‘Alarming’ mental health rates for working women must be addressed

New research from the Liptember Foundation provides further insight into the most common mental health issues affecting women across various Australian workplaces.

Gender disparity in the workplace is, of course, not a new issue. Whether it’s a pay gap, harassment, or neglect of wellbeing, women workers are often on the wrong end of workplace outcomes.

Liptember Foundation’s annual Women’s Mental Health Research has uncovered yet another workplace outcome that is leaving women workers scrambling for support from their employers.

Mental health issues are rampant among women workers in Australia, exacerbated by a lack of support from organisations and employers. According to the report, the most common mental health issues affecting women in Australia today are depression (46 per cent), anxiety and generalised anxiety disorder (41 per cent), and body image issues (29 per cent)

The report outlines that these common mental health struggles experienced by women can often be boiled down to various factors. One is the disparities in access to care, particularly in the workplace, as well as the general stigma of asking for help still being a major roadblock.

A concerning statistic revealed in the report was that a quarter of women are likely living with a severe disorder.

Luke Morris, Liptember Foundation chief executive and founder, said: “Of remarkable note, there is a major gap in how employers are supporting women’s mental health in the workplace. Eighty per cent feel there’s more employers can do, and only 45 per cent of employers are known to offer mental health services.”

“Fifty-five per cent of working women either don’t have access, or aren’t aware, if their employers offer mental health support programs, yet seven in 10 women, however, would not shy away from support programs if available.”

Perhaps the most damning statistic covered in the report was around the topic of sexual harassment, which has been a plague across Australian workplaces, regardless of industry, for a long time.

“Another alarming statistic was that one in five 14–19-year-old women stated they had been sexually harassed in the workplace, so not only are support programs important, there needs to be a significant cultural change in our country; supporting positive action against behaviours that can negatively impact young women’s mental health,” Morris said.

As it stands, 54 per cent of women are currently living with mental health issues, yet only half of these women are seeking professional help. Of course, the common barriers can be pointed to, such as financial constraints, fear of social judgement, and lack of knowledge regarding the available resources.

However, the general sentiment among women (71 per cent) was that there was a major inadequacy in regard to the acknowledgment of mental health issues and too much stigma remaining around seeking help in the workplace.

In terms of positive improvements in this space, there has been a notable decrease in body image issues across all age demographics this year (29 per cent) compared to the previous year (38 per cent).

This could be derived from the cultural dismantling of the perfect body, which often sets unrealistic expectations about what someone should look like. Paired with societal and media pressures, this was often a common trigger for body image issues; however, in the past year, this mindset has subsided, helping body image issues see a good downward trend.

This similar impact could happen to the stigma of asking for help, especially if societal expectations around being private about your mental issues are dismantled. We have seen efforts from workplaces, mental health advocates, and programs to do this very thing, but there is still a way to go.

“This year’s report highlights a concerning increase to certain mental health issues affecting women of each life stage. Together with the help of our community of experts and advocates, we can strive towards improving these statistics and achieving better mental health for Aussie women,” Morris said.