October Health – 2025 Report
Female Demographic in United Kingdom
The leading cause of stress for women in the United Kingdom, on a population level, is often work-related factors. These include job insecurity, workload, and the pressure to balance work with family and caregiving responsibilities. Women disproportionately take on unpaid domestic and caregiving roles, contributing significantly to stress levels. Additionally, financial concerns and societal expectations or pressures around appearance and success can also be key contributors.
How mental health affects the Female demographic differently
Stresses Affecting Females More Than Other Genders
1. **Workplace Gender Bias**: Females may face unequal treatment, lower wages, or fewer opportunities for advancement compared to male colleagues. This can contribute to chronic stress.
2. **Work-Life Balance**: Women often experience greater societal pressure to balance careers with caregiving roles, leading to emotional and physical strain.
3. **Perceived Appearance Standards**: Societal expectations around body image and appearance disproportionately affect women, causing stress, anxiety, or low self-esteem.
4. **Gender-Based Discrimination and Harassment**: Higher incidences of workplace harassment and microaggressions can lead to feelings of insecurity and mental distress.
5. **Reproductive Health-Related Stress**: Factors like menstruation, pregnancy, infertility, miscarriage, or menopause may create unique physical and emotional stressors.
6. **Caregiving Responsibilities**: Women are more likely to assume caregiving roles for children, elderly relatives, or loved ones, which can lead to emotional and financial strain.
7. **Emotional Labour**: Societal norms often place disproportionate expectations on women to maintain emotional harmony at work and home, leading to exhaustion.
Support Suggestions
- Foster inclusive workplace cultures to reduce gender bias and discrimination.
- Offer flexible work arrangements to ease caregiving burdens.
- Implement mental health support programmes like October’s group sessions and digital resources to create safe spaces for expression and coping.
Data from October Health
What's driving mental health stresses for the Female demographic in South African?
Proactive mental fitness for high performance staff.
Understand the stresses and workplace challenges of your staff and provide them with the tools to protect their productivity and mental health.