Breaking the silence, tackling mental issues: acting NOW!

On this crucial day which acknowledges mental health as a serious health problem and not as usual as a taboo, I really would like to stress the necessity to tackle properly and efficiently these diseases. Indeed, this is an issue that comes up to be so underestimated across society and this denial can rebound and have devastating impacts on the post COVID economy.   

First of all, since women are disproportionately impacted when it comes to mental health issues, I am convinced that a unique system of support is urgently required.  

 What do the data tell us? 

Depression and anxiety lead to significant economic consequences and result in an estimated loss of US$1 trillion in productivity annually around the world1. A substantial body of research has demonstrated the links between psychosocial working conditions and worker health over the last three decades3. 

For instance, in the United Kingdom, poor mental health among employees is estimated to cost UK employers ￡42bn – ￡45bn each year2. However, most companies do not fully acknowledge and address mental health issues through a gender lens, particularly the needs of women. The differences in gender ratio are particularly evident in the occurrence of common mental disorders such as depression or anxiety. Mental health problems, which are different from psychiatric disorders, vary across genders: women suffer from higher rates of depression and anxiety, and men have higher rates of substance abuse and antisocial disorders4.  

These disparities of mental health issues between women and men lead to direct impacts on the workplace; they affect the rates of disclosure of mental health issues, as well as the number of sick days taken due to stress and anxiety. Due to a variety of factors, primarily concerning different gender roles and gender inequalities, depression is approximately twice as prevalent among women as men. 

In addition, many older adults are at risk of developing mental and neurological disorders. As a matter of fact, mental and neurological disorders among older adults account for 6.6% of the total disability (DALYs) for this age group and approximately 15% of adults aged 60 and over suffer from a mental disorder5. 

The Women’s Forum Call to Action the G7 Leaders 

In this challenging and disruptive world, and even more in light of the COVID-19 crisis, at the Women’s Forum we intimately believe that women have to be fully associated to design fairer, prosperous and inclusive societies. 

Therefore, I am fully persuaded that this Recovery should also be a She-Covery, where women are as fully involved as men to build a more inclusive world.  

This is why the Women’s Forum is launching a Call to Action for an Inclusive Recovery. These proposals are achievable, concrete and pragmatic and will help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.  

With these recommendations, we are calling the G7 Leaders to ensure that women become the leading force that will shape the new world that humanity needs, and the drivers to promote sustainable growth. 

Mental health is one of the top priorities to address in order to unleash the potential of women and to improve their future. 

In conclusion, the G7 Leaders should lead by example acknowledging mental health issues as a critical disease and a pressing social and economic challenge. To reach this objective they should: 

• Collect accurate gender-disaggregated data to refine the understanding of a global audience on this issue. 
• Build an open culture to ensure that mental health is fully taken into account as it should. 
• Develop effective instruments to recognise, diagnose, and treat mental health problems. 
• Enact a legal framework within companies and public institutions to better entrust empathy and support employees in their feeling of distress. 
• Allocate the necessary financial resources to cover the expenses related to mental health to the same extent to other diseases. 

Notes 

1. World Economic Forum (2018), Depression is the no. 1 cause of ill health and disability worldwide. 
2. Deloitte (2020), Mental health and employers. Refreshing the case for investment.' 
3. Workplace mental health: developing an integrated intervention approach (2014), Anthony D LaMontagne. 
4. European Parliament, Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (2016), Report on ‘Promoting gender equality in mental health and clinical research (2016/2096(INI)). 
5. World Health Organisation (2017), Mental health of older adults.