Ei-iE

Women’s psychological and physical health

Women, in all their diversity, make up the majority of the teaching workforce. Their well-being is closely linked to both their psychological and physical health. Factors such as stress and anxiety, often heightened by the demands of teaching, can significantly impact mental health, leading to burnout or emotional exhaustion. In addition to their professional responsibilities, many women face a double burden of unpaid domestic and caregiving work, which can strain their work-life balance and exacerbate stress and fatigue. Additionally, hormonal changes related to menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause can affect mood, energy levels, and cognitive functioning, influencing how teachers feel and perform at work. As a result, reproductive health issues may lead to fatigue, discomfort, or absenteeism. Addressing these interconnected health aspects is essential to supporting the overall well-being and professional sustainability of women in educational roles.

The guide recognizes menopause as both an occupational health and equality issue for women educators. It offers practical workplace adjustments to support staff experiencing menopausal symptoms. The guide encourages open dialogue, awareness among all staff, and the implementation of supportive policies. It includes resources like posters, paper fans, model policies, and checklists for leaders and union reps, aiming to foster a more inclusive and comfortable working environment for women.

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Publisher: National Education Union
Country: United Kingdom
Year of publication: 2025

Region: Europe
Topics: Women’s psychological and physical health
Available in: English
Categories of staff: Teachers Education support personnel School leaders Union representatives
Resource type: Online ressource

The NASUWT's Women's Health and Wellbeing toolkit offers comprehensive advice and guidance for managing health issues that specifically affect women in the workplace. The site offers three separate guides on (i) endometriosis, adenomyosis and fibroids in the workplace; (ii) managing menopause in the workplace; (iii) valuing maternity. The toolkit emphasizes the importance of creating a supportive work environments, valuing maternity, and ensuring that women receive the necessary accommodations and understanding to maintain their health and wellbeing while fulfilling their professional duties.

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Publisher: NASUWT - The Teachers' Union
Country: United Kingdom
Year of publication: 2025

Region: Europe
Topics: Physical health Women’s psychological and physical health
Available in: English
Categories of staff: Teachers
Specific communities: Women
Resource type: Web page

The guidance supports women returning from maternity leave who wish to continue breastfeeding. It advocates for risk assessments, flexible work arrangements, suitable rest facilities, and paid breastfeeding breaks to ensure dignity and safety. The page includes practical resources such as model policies, sample letters for members and reps, checklists for leaders, and campaign materials. While some schools and colleges embrace these practices, the NEU highlights that many women still face degrading treatment.

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Publisher: National Education Union
Country: United Kingdom
Year of publication: 2024

Region: Europe
Topics: Women’s psychological and physical health
Available in: English
Categories of staff: Teachers Education support personnel School leaders
Resource type: Online ressource

The guide aims to support women suffering from endometriosis in the workplace. It provides detailed information on the challenges these women face and offers practical solutions for employers and managers. The guide includes recommendations such as additional leave days, flexible teleworking options, and creating a restful environment at work. It also emphasizes the importance of collective bargaining to improve working conditions and highlights the need for awareness and understanding of endometriosis among all workplace stakeholders.

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Publisher: Union nationale des syndicats autonomes - Education
Country: France
Year of publication: 2024

Region: Europe
Topics: Women’s psychological and physical health
Available in: French
Categories of staff: Teachers Education support personnel School leaders
Resource type: Web page

This guidance is aimed at employers, government policymakers, and trade unions, particularly union representatives and negotiators. Its objective is to provide evidence and a clear framework for reforming workplace policies so that menstruation and menopause are recognised and supported, stigma is reduced, and workers’ wellbeing and equality are promoted within a modern labour force.

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Publisher: Irish National Teachers' Organisation Fórsa Trade Union Financial Services Union (FSU) Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) Irish Nurses Midwives Organisation (INMO) Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU) UNITE the union Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU)
Country: Ireland
Year of publication: 2023

Region: Europe
Topics: Women’s psychological and physical health
Available in: English
Categories of staff: School leaders Union representatives
Resource type: Downloadable file

The "Menopause in the Workplace Policy Framework" provides comprehensive guidelines for civil service organizations to support employees experiencing menopause. It emphasizes creating an inclusive and supportive work environment, detailing key principles such as health, safety, welfare, and equality. The framework includes guidance on policy development, workplace adjustments, roles and responsibilities

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Publisher: Irish National Teachers' Organisation Department of Public Expenditure NDP Delivery
Country: Ireland
Year of publication: 2023

Region: Europe
Topics: Women’s psychological and physical health
Available in: English
Categories of staff: Teachers Education support personnel School leaders Union representatives
Resource type: Downloadable file

The NASUWT guide on managing the menopause in the workplace provides essential advice for employers on supporting women experiencing menopause. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing menopause as a significant health and safety issue, promoting awareness, and implementing supportive measures. The guide outlines practical steps such as conducting risk assessments, offering flexible working arrangements, and ensuring access to necessary facilities. It aims to create a workplace environment where women feel comfortable discussing their symptoms and seeking help, ultimately fostering a supportive and inclusive atmosphere.

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Publisher: NASUWT - The Teachers' Union
Country: United Kingdom
Year of publication: 2021

Region: Europe
Topics: Women’s psychological and physical health
Available in: English
Categories of staff: School leaders
Resource type: Web page

The research captures the lived experiences of 1,000 women educators during the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights how gender inequality intensified during this period, with women disproportionately affected by increased unpaid care work, domestic responsibilities, and professional pressures. The findings reveal the emotional and physical toll on women balancing teaching duties with caregiving, often working long hours with little support.

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Publisher: Educational Institute of Scotland
Country: United Kingdom
Year of publication: 2020

Region: Europe
Topics: Mental health Pandemics and epidemics Women’s psychological and physical health
Available in: English
Categories of staff: Teachers Education support personnel School leaders
Resource type: Downloadable file

The document focuses on the pervasive issue of gender-based violence in and around educational settings, particularly in Africa. It draws on the experience of nine EI member organisations in seven African countries committed to combatting SRGBV in their contexts. The first section focuses on actions these unions have taken internally to adapt decision making structures, update policies and deploy resources to empower their members to act. The second section looks at how education unions have reached out to other stakeholders (legislators, ministries, civil society organisations, traditional leaders, parents, media and learners) to pursue coordinated strategies for change.

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Publisher: Gender at Work Education International (EI) United Nations Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI)
Year of publication: 2019

Region: Africa
Topics: Safety Violence and harassment Women’s psychological and physical health
Available in: English French Spanish, Castilian
Resource type: Downloadable file

The report highlights the challenges faced by teachers in managing reproductive health matters within the constraints of the school year and existing sick leave schemes. The report reveals that many teachers experience difficulties in scheduling appointments and treatments, often resorting to using school closures or personal leave. It emphasizes the need for a dedicated reproductive health leave scheme to support teachers, reduce stress, and ensure privacy.

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Publisher: Irish National Teachers' Organisation
Country: Ireland
Year of publication: 2019

Region: Europe
Topics: Women’s psychological and physical health
Available in: English
Categories of staff: Teachers Education support personnel School leaders Union representatives
Resource type: Downloadable file

The Advisory Opinion OC-31/25, issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, explores the content and scope of the right to care and its interrelation with other human rights. The Court recognizes care as an autonomous human right, rooted in dignity and shared social and familial responsibility. It examines three dimensions, being cared for, caring for others, and self-care, and links them to principles of equality, non-discrimination, and solidarity. The opinion outlines state obligations to ensure care through public policies and legal frameworks, especially for vulnerable populations, and emphasizes its connection to economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights such as work, health, education, and social security.

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Publisher: Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Country: Costa Rica
Year of publication: 2025

Region: Latin America
Topics: Mental health Social emotional skills Social protection Women’s psychological and physical health
Available in: Spanish, Castilian
Categories of staff: Teachers Education support personnel School leaders Union representatives
Resource type: Downloadable file

The toolkit offers a comprehensive, whole-school approach to tackling gender-based discrimination and abuse. It provides practical guidance across five key themes, leadership, staff, students, curriculum, and community, and five threads including inclusion, interpersonal dynamics, and imagery. Designed to be flexible and adaptable, the toolkit encourages collective reflection and long-term cultural change. It includes resources such as videos, posters, PowerPoint presentations, and model policy clauses to support staff in creating safer, more respectful school environments.

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Publisher: National Education Union
Country: United Kingdom
Year of publication: 2025

Region: Europe
Topics: Violence and harassment Women’s psychological and physical health
Available in: English
Categories of staff: Teachers Education support personnel School leaders
Resource type: Online ressource

In an interview with CAUT, Ivy Lynn Bourgeault discusses her national study on mental health across various professions, focusing on academia. The study highlights the high levels of anxiety and depression among academics due to heavy workloads, digital stress, and continuous peer evaluation. Bourgeault emphasizes the need for better mental health accommodations and support, particularly for contract academic staff who face job insecurity. She also addresses the gender gap in mental health research and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on academic staff's well-being.

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Publisher: Canadian Association of University Teachers
Country: Canada
Year of publication: 2025

Region: North America and the Caribbean
Topics: Mental health Pandemics and epidemics Right to disconnect and technology Women’s psychological and physical health Workload
Available in: English French
Categories of staff: Teachers Researchers
Level of education: Higher education and research
Resource type: Web page

The page presents the European Economic and Social Committee's (EESC) opinion on ensuring a needs-based work-life balance for all. It highlights the importance of adapting work-life balance strategies to address shifting demographics, new forms of work, and rising care demands. The EESC emphasizes the need for affordable, accessible, high-quality services that benefit workers, families, companies, and public authorities. It also stresses the importance of supporting care work and financial security for families and workers, viewing these as investments in society and the economy. The opinion calls for the assessment of work-life balance policies in EU companies and highlights the role of social dialogue in achieving this objective.

The resource can be downloaded in all available languages on the EESC website.

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Publisher: European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
Year of publication: 2024

Region: Europe
Topics: Women’s psychological and physical health Workload
Available in: German Danish Czech Bulgarian Spanish, Castilian English Greek, Modern French Irish Hungarian Finnish Estonian Lithuanian Latvian Dutch Portuguese Romanian, Moldovan Slovak Slovenian Swedish Italian Croatian Maltese Polish
Categories of staff: Teachers Education support personnel School leaders Researchers

The INEE Minimum Standards offer a compilation of guidances that emphasize the importance of creating safe, secure, and nurturing learning environments that support the psychosocial and physical wellbeing of learners, teachers, and education support personnel. It outlines key actions such as promoting positive classroom management, preventing school-related gender-based violence, ensuring safe school infrastructure, and training staff on protection mechanisms and referrals. The standard also highlights the role of community participation and risk reduction strategies in safeguarding education spaces, especially in insecure or crisis-affected areas.

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Publisher: Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE)
Year of publication: 2024

Topics: Cross-cutting resource Mental health Safety Violence and harassment Women’s psychological and physical health
Available in: English
Categories of staff: Teachers Education support personnel School leaders
Resource type: Online ressource

Ei-iE

Women’s psychological and physical health

Showing 18 Resources Filtered by:

Working through the menopause

Women’s health and wellbeing: Guidance and advice on different topics

Breastfeeding women at work

Better understanding and action for workers with endometriosis

Menstruation and menopause: Workplace policy reform for a modern labour force - A trade union led initiative

Menopause in the workplace policy framework for civil service organisations

Managing the menopause in the workplace

One thousand women’s voices: Recording EIS member’s experience and resilience during Covid-19

Strategies to end school-related gender-based violence: The experience of education unions in Africa

Reproductive related health matters: INTO member survey report

The content and scope of the right to care and its interrelation with other rights: Inter-American Court of Human Rights advisory opinion.

Preventing sexism & sexual harassment

Interview with Ivy Lynn Bourgeault on mental health

Ensuring a needs-based work-life balance for all: How adequate flexible working conditions can support intergenerational solidarity and the empowerment of women

INEE Minimum Standards - Standard 9: Protection and Wellbeing