Do you have a brother at home who always gets the advantages of being a male? Does your boss assign you meagre tasks saying that you’re a woman? When fueled by sexism, gender discrimination becomes mental torture that any woman should not tolerate or accept. Though anti-discrimination rules are in place, gender discrimination and the mental health issues that follow are never really addressed or thought after.
Gender discrimination has a significant impact on women’s mental and physical health worldwide. Though research says that women live longer than men, the quality of life they lead is questionable. This discrimination, which happens throughout their life, affects their overall mental and physical world. A study conducted under the title “Gender discrimination and depressive symptoms among child-bearing women: ELSPAC-CZ cohort study”, among women who were all pregnant or parenting young children at the time. Perceived gender discrimination was assessed by the following question: “Would you say that in the past 12 months, someone treated you unfairly because of your gender?”. Women were asked this question on three occasions, in mid-pregnancy, and 7 and 11 years after delivery.
Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to measure depressive symptoms at each time-point. All women who responded “Yes” to the gender discrimination question had higher depression scores than others. The authors of this research paper also argue that discrimination is the key factor causing the “gender gap” in rates of mental illness.
Women experience higher rates of several mental health conditions including:
Depression
Anxiety
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Eating disorders
They also experience lower self-esteem and inferiority complex problems, being always discriminated in several spaces. Suicide Statistics by American Foundation for Suicide Prevention says that women are 1.5 times more likely to attempt suicide than men. A major psychological effect of discrimination and sexism is trauma. It takes forms like anger, sadness, insomnia, etc.
It is important that one takes care of our mental health in all circumstances. Our thought, actions and feelings are driven by mental and emotional health.
With proper attention to your mental health, it is possible to balance your mind and wellbeing. The following tips will be beneficial for the same.
Do not tolerate any kind of discrimination: Be it at work or home, never accept or suppress the problem you face. Never settle for compromises.
Always stand up for yourself:
At home: Share the work. Teach your kids about the importance of gender equality and be a good role model for them. Treat your children equally and assign them tasks without stereotyping. If you face discrimination, talk to your parents or people concerned.
At work: Work only for a company that has a clear policy on discrimination. A Unilever study found that women and men struggle to acknowledge gender discrimination and inappropriate behaviour (even sexual harassment) in the workplace. Report to HR, if you face any kind of discrimination. The Equality Act 2010 protects you from discrimination, harassment and victimization.
Avoid hate comments and being around toxic people: It is necessary to avoid toxic people and hate comments from your life. These affect your mental health and destroy your inner peace.
Offer help to others who are discriminated: When you find out that someone you know is being discriminated against, help them with the issue. This will always give you the satisfaction of doing well for others.
Gender Equality is the 5th Goal of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It is high time we start talking about it in order to achieve it. Policies like HeForShe are promoting Gender Equality worldwide and there are several helpline mediums to reach out to. As a leading promoter of mental health, SoundMinds UK is always here for help. We offer confidential emotional support for people facing discrimination, in distress, pain and trouble. Let’s work together against gender discrimination and #BreaktheBias.