A recent study has shed light on the alarming mental health impacts of the pandemic, revealing that women have been disproportionately affected. While it’s widely recognized that the pandemic has led to a mental health crisis globally, the extent of its impact on women has emerged as particularly severe.
According to findings published in The Lancet, global rates of depression and anxiety surged during the pandemic, with depression rising by 28 percent and anxiety by 26 percent. However, the statistics for women are even more staggering: around 35 million women were newly diagnosed with major depressive disorder compared to just 18 million men. Additionally, 52 million women faced anxiety diagnoses, significantly outpacing the 24 million men affected.
“This study is the first to comprehensively assess the pandemic’s effects on mental health globally,” stated Alize Ferrari, a co-author of the research. “The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified existing inequalities and social determinants of mental health. Unfortunately, women have historically been more susceptible to the social and economic fallout of such crises.”
The challenges that women face are compounded by their roles, especially working mothers who have had to balance work, childcare, and homeschooling responsibilities. A report by McKinsey in 2020 indicated that one in four working women considered leaving their jobs, and for mothers, this figure was one in three. The burden of increased household responsibilities has also weighed more heavily on women, with 75 percent reporting that they spent more time on such duties than before the pandemic.
Dr. Leo Martinez, the lead author of the study, emphasized the critical need to bolster mental health systems to manage the rising incidences of depressive and anxiety disorders. “Even prior to the pandemic, mental health care systems were often underfunded and poorly organized. The added demand for services due to COVID-19 presents significant challenges, and inaction is not an option.”
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