This study provided the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) with a comprehensive analysis of how gender pay and pension gaps, alongside emerging forms of work, affect women's mental health across the EU. The project addressed a critical gap at the intersection of gender equality, economic disparities and mental health outcomes. The key challenge was establishing robust evidence linking gendered labour market inequalities with mental health outcomes while navigating significant data limitations and fragmentation across Member States, and translating complex findings into actionable policy recommendations for both EU-level legislative action and national interventions.
The study employed a mixed-methods approach combining literature review, quantitative analysis of EU-level datasets (Eurostat, Eurofound, EU-OSHA), comprehensive legal and policy mapping across all Member States, 20+ interviews with policymakers and experts at both EU (e.g. Eurofound, DG JUST, ETUC) and national levels (ES, CZ, NL, SE, FI, DK). The methodological innovation lies in its integrated approach that bridges traditionally separate policy domains (gender equality, labour market policy and mental health) and its systematic assessment of both policy effectiveness and evidence gaps. The team synthesised insights from multiple disciplines while reconciling different methodological approaches to mental health assessment across diverse national contexts and systematically identified critical data and knowledge gaps that hinder effective policymaking.
The project delivered a comprehensive final report with recommendations. At the end of the project, the findings were presented to the FEMM Committee, generating substantial interest among Members of the European Parliament. Beyond immediate policy impact, the study contributes to broader discourse by establishing a framework for understanding the mental health dimensions of gender-based economic inequality and identifying good practices and transferable models that offer Member States concrete examples for strengthening their own gender-responsive policies.