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Two paradoxes in women's well-being.
Caspar Kaiser1,2, Naomi Muggleton1, Edika Quispe-Torreblanca3
1Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
Science Advances
|March 5, 2025
Summary
Women report higher life satisfaction but worse mental health than men. Despite social progress, women's overall well-being relative to men has declined globally, especially concerning negative affect.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Economics
Background:
- The gender gap in well-being presents two paradoxes: women report higher life satisfaction yet worse mental health, and their well-being has declined relative to men despite societal advances.
- Potential explanations include differential expectations, biological factors, and scale usage in well-being assessments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the literature on the gender gap in well-being.
- To empirically investigate the paradoxes of gender well-being gaps using global and long-term data.
Main Methods:
- Literature review on gender well-being gaps.
- Analysis of global data (2006-2023) and long-term European and US data (since 1970s).
Main Results:
- Gender well-being gaps vary significantly across countries, indicating the first paradox (higher satisfaction, worse mental health) is not universal.
- A consistent global trend shows a relative decline in women's well-being over time, particularly in measures of negative affect.
Conclusions:
- The relationship between gender and well-being is complex and context-dependent.
- Despite improvements in social and economic status, women's well-being has relatively declined globally, highlighting persistent challenges in mental health and negative affect.
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