Giving Compass' Take:

• Research suggests that women in the United Kingdom are taking on greater levels of stress and anxiety during the COVID-19 lockdown. 

• What are some of the underlying reasons for this impact on women's mental health? What support systems exist during the pandemic? 

• Read more about bolstering mental health during COVID-19. 

Women are bearing the emotional brunt of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in Britain, according to a survey from the Fawcett Society, a campaign group for gender equality and women’s rights at work.

The research — released on Wednesday during the UK’s mental health awareness week, held from May 18 to 24 — suggests that women are taking on greater levels of stress and anxiety during the country’s lockdown.

Six out of 10 women (61%) said they are finding it harder to stay positive day-to-day, compared with 47% of men; while women are more likely to be worried about the state of the country too. That is despite the fact that men are at an increased risk of dying from COVID-19.

Almost half of women (49%), for example, said they were very concerned about the risks posed by coronavirus to the UK, compared with 36% of men; and a higher percentage of women felt that economic conditions would get worse (35% compared with 18% of men.)

The analysis was done by polling company Ipsos Mori, which examined the results of opinion surveys conducted between February and May.

It shows that women are more likely to have experienced disruption to work and finances too: 33% of women in employment prior to the pandemic said their workplaces have been closed, compared with 25% of men.

The analysis follows research from the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, and Zurich, published on May 6, which found women’s mental health had been more greatly impacted during lockdown in the US too, increasing the gender gap for mental health by 66%.

Read the full article about women and anxiety COVID-19 by Helen Lock at Global Citizen.