It’s (not) all in your head: Why employers must prioritise women’s mental health at work.

From hiring to promoting, and from caring responsibilities to health issues, women continue to face headwinds. While these challenges are decades old, a recent report by Forbes says women have recently internalised new levels of uncertainty, which leads to additional mental distress and hinders ability to progress at work.

During Mental Health Awareness Month, the Mental Health Foundation shared research showing how poor mental health thwarts participation in employment.

• Women working full-time are nearly twice as likely to experience mental health problems compared to their male counterparts.

• Poor mental wellbeing costs employers in the UK up to £45bn annually.

• In 2024, 50% of women reported higher stress levels than the previous year: a number that increases to 60% for ethnic minorities.

Mental health is now one of working women’s top concerns, second only to women’s rights, with 33% of respondents having taken time off in the past year because of their mental health. (Yet 66% of those same respondents revealed they’re not comfortable revealing mental health as a reason for their absence.)

Notably, 73% of women absorb the stress of loved ones, and only 18% feel comfortable openly discussing their struggles, according to research featured by the New York Post. Younger women, particularly Gen Z and millennials, report feeling stressed for an average of six hours daily, surpassing older generations.

KPMG: Championing women's wellbeing in the workplace

These stark numbers serve as a call to action for businesses to prioritise women's mental health. By implementing inclusive policies and fostering supportive environments, employers can not only enhance wellbeing, but also drive productivity and retention. Indeed, there’s a positive return on investment of around £5.30 for every £1 invested in mental health interventions in the workplace.

This is top-of-mind at KPMG, a Women in Work Summit partner, which hosts an annual mental health awareness programme of events for employees during Mental Health Awareness Month, which this year included a panel with mental health advocate Natasha Devon MBE, focusing on the specific challenges young women face. Meanwhile, its BeMindful Network provides an open, supportive space for all colleagues to discuss mental health and wellbeing.

In tandem with these activities, KPMG’s Network of Women (K.N.O.W) provides a year-round safe community to discuss and address challenges like workplace inequality and gender-based violence, alongside the BeSafe personal safety community. The firm also has policies in place for neonatal leave, support for miscarriage and pregnancy loss, and menstruation and menopause, including externally trained Menopause Ambassadors offering peer support.

Liz Claydon: Partner, Global Head of Deal Advisory & UK Vice Chair, at KPMG

Liz Claydon, Partner, Global Head of Deal Advisory & UK Vice Chair, at KPMG says: “As women, we face unique challenges, both professionally and personally. From breaking barriers to balancing responsibilities, the path to success takes resilience. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made in creating a culture where women feel empowered to lead, speak up, and seek support. I passionately champion our mentoring programmes and Women’s Networks across the firm and client communities.”

Physical and mental wellbeing: making the connection

For employers like KPMG that work hard to recognise the intersection between women’s physical and mental health, the results speak for themselves. But Dr Krystal Wilkinson, a work and employment scholar at Manchester Metropolitan University, chartered member of the CIPD, and Women in Work speaker alumna, says companies should be making this link more often.

She’s calling for businesses to acknowledge that one in five women experience mental health issues during pregnancy and post-birth by adding a paragraph to maternity, paternity, adoption, and other related policies which provides signposting to available mental health resources and charities.

They should also implement basic line manager training or provide toolkits to help managers understand perinatal mental health, know how to sensitively check in with employees, and provide flexible support during reproductive health transitions.

“The overarching goal,” says Wilkinson, “is to break the stigma, raise awareness, and create a more supportive workplace environment that recognises the interconnection between women's physical and mental health. This is a simple, low-cost intervention that could make a significant difference in supporting women's workplace wellbeing.”

Grayling's transformative approach

At PR specialist and Women in Work Summit partner Grayling, CEO Heather Blundell is doing just this – implementing meaningful policies that address critical workplace challenges. "We've always been a kind and generous agency," Blundell explains, "but we needed more clarity around our policies and benefits."

This clarity, she explains has translated into groundbreaking policies covering fertility, miscarriage, and most recently, menopause support. The agency's journey began with transparent policymaking, including making their workplace guidelines publicly available, recognising how this transparency helps job seekers and employees understand their potential workplace support.

Grayling's commitment runs deep: they've partnered with Tommy's to provide comprehensive training for line managers to support employees on sensitive topics like fertility challenges and baby loss. Crucially, their policies are inclusive, offering up to two weeks of paid leave for both men and women experiencing fertility issues or baby loss.

Menopause is a current focus, with Blundell highlighting the profound psychological impact often overlooked in workplace discussions, and referencing the loss of confidence and brain fog experienced by many. The approach is comprehensive: developing awareness through expert-led training, updating policies to include paid menopause-related time off, and recognising that perimenopause can begin in the early 40s.

By partnering with the Women in Work Summit, Grayling is amplifying these conversations. The agency’s goal extends beyond their own workplace – they aim to inspire other businesses to create more supportive environments for women.

Heather Blundell, Grayling: "We want to really put this on the map and inspire conversation,"

Increased investment in women’s health could yield $14bn, says WHAM Report

Although the term “women’s health” is often misinterpreted as pertaining exclusively to reproductive health, this only represents a fraction of the conditions that will affect a woman in her lifetime. In the US alone, women represent 50% of the workforce, 51% of the population, make 80% of the healthcare decisions, and are responsible for 85% of consumer spending.

Analysis by Women’s Health Access Matters (WHAM), in collaboration with the KPMG Foundation: The Business Case for Accelerating Women's Health Investment, labelled the lack of investment in the health of women “an immense missed opportunity.”

Conversely, investing in women’s health has the potential to deliver transformative economic impact, says the report:

• $350m in research focused on women could yield $14bn in economic returns.

• Doubling investment in women-focused research for coronary artery disease alone could save nearly $2bn in healthcare costs.

• Closing the 25% gap in women’s health outcomes could add at least $1 trillion to annual global GDP by 2040, generating a $3 return in economic growth for every $1 invested.

As the report states: “Investing in women’s health is not just about advancing healthcare for women – it’s a pathway to societal impact, economic resilience, and sustainable growth.”

Inaugural Menopause Advisory Group: how to stem 10% of menopausal women leaving workplace

Meanwhile, Mariella Frostrup, Women in Work Summit co-founder, journalist, campaigner and Government Menopause Employment Ambassador, led the first independent Menopause Advisory Group panel, which included Liz Kendall, work and pensions secretary, as well as business leaders from Octopus Energy and BT.

The group discussed ways to keep women in work for longer, such as encouraging career changes and better mechanisms to switch careers, improving flexible working policies and ensuring quiet and calm space in the workplace.

“The most important thing is making it part of the conversation, making people feel included,” Frostrup told The Times. “Make them feel valuable, rather than undervalued or worthless. And that is the biggest issue for a lot of women at the moment. Those are the things we have to change, first and foremost.”

According to the CIPD, 53% of women experiencing menopause have not been able to attend work due to their symptoms, and 10% leave work for good – costing businesses around £1.5 billion each year.

The Employment Rights Bill, currently being scrutinised in the House of Lords, includes a proposal to require large employers to publish menopause action plans setting out how they will support employees through the menopause.

Menopause Advisory Group Panel

Unpaid “likeability labour” is holding women back, says new report

Adding to the pay gap, pension gap, authority gap, glass ceiling (and cliff), women also need to rail against the pressure to be “likeable” at work, says a report out earlier this month: Shapeshifters: What We Do at Work to Be Liked. Having surveyed more than 1,000 people, it discovered that 56% of women feel pressure to be likeable at work, compared with 36% of men.

Women are 10% more likely to apologise at work than men, alongside self-silencing to avoid confrontation. The study found more than 50% of women have avoided sharing their opinions at work to reduce the risk of being branded “difficult”.

A third (33%) of women worry about coming across as too confident (compared to 16% of men), and 50% say they hold back their true opinions in order to be liked (compared to 35% of men). More than a third of women try to “smile more”.

Interviewed by Stylist, Amy Kean, a sociologist and creator of the report, says these expectations are “draining creative energy, muffling innovation, and punishing authenticity. Women don’t need to smile more. They don’t need to soften their emails or preface their ideas with apologies. They need workplaces brave enough to let them be brilliant. Let’s stop asking women to shapeshift. Instead, let’s start communicating like grown-ups.”

Bravo to that!

And it’s exactly what we’ll be doing at the third annual Women in Work Summit this October…