International Women’s Day is celebrated annually on the 8th of March, as an opportunity to highlight the invaluable contributions of women across the world. This year to celebrate, it’s important to highlight some of the leading women – from Tanzania to Canada to Bangladesh – working in healthcare, and in particular those in the mental health space.

Women working in healthcare have long had their achievements downplayed. Some of the most groundbreaking medical and scientific research has incorrectly been attributed to men, such as Rosalind Franklin being not properly credited for her crucial work on DNA discovery, or Nettie Stevens who discovered the existence of X and Y chromosomes. Despite this, they have continued to work tirelessly to make the world a healthier place for everyone.

In the modern age, mental health care is increasingly being understood as crucial to long-term wellbeing, but it remains under-researched and under-delivered, particularly when the patients are women. [1] Throughout much of history, women’s feelings were reduced as ‘hysteria’, presupposing a gendered difference in response to natural stressors which often resulted in asymmetrical and frequently harmful medical practices. Unfortunately, aspects of that bias remain and studies have consistently found that women’s mental health is inadequately treated, or used as a scapegoat to explain away other issues, rather than medical professionals working to get to the bottom of an issue. This has a litany of impacts, notwithstanding the direct personal impact it has on the women who are not receiving proper mental health care.

There are economic costs too, of failing to treat and prioritise women’s mental health. Across the globe, not only do women play a crucial role in the formal workforce, they also provide the majority of unpaid care and domestic work which enables family members to continue to function and be economically productive.

Unless the world starts getting serious about mental health, it could become the next silent pandemic, akin to the strain on health systems we are currently seeing caused by smoking and obesity. While the impacts of smoking and obesity tend to hit later in life, poor mental health can develop at any time and impacts people joining and leaving the workforce at every stage of life. Given this, it’s crucial to highlight the pioneers who have worked at the intersection of mental health and women’s health by supporting and encouraging both.

There are a number of pioneering psychiatrists who have used their medical expertise to ensure that women across the world get the mental health care they deserve and who deserve more credit. One such psychiatrist is Mambalikalathil Sarada Menon. M. Sarada Menon as she was known, was the first woman to qualify as a psychiatrist in India and the founder of the Schizophrenia Research Foundation based in Chennai, which has been at the forefront of studying and treating schizophrenia. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan honour in 1992, for her contributions to society, and passed away in 2021 at the age of 98, leaving the global mental health community much poorer for her loss. Her work paved the way for women in South East Asia and globally.

Another pioneering psychiatrist who is continuing to break barriers is Dr Cornelia Wieman, who is Canada’s first female Indigenous psychiatrist. Dr Wieman has been a vocal advocate for the Indigenous community, and is a founding member of the Mental Health Services clinic on the largest First Nations reserve in the country.In addition to this, she has worked extensively with the Canadian government to tackle high suicide rates amongst her community, particularly amongst young people. She now also serves as the First Nations Health Authority deputy Chief Medical Officer as well as working as a professor and advocate.

In addition to the extremely valuable work done by clinicians and psychiatrists, there is also invaluable work being done by mental health advocates across the world. One such woman is Dior Vargas, activist, speaker and creator of the People of Color and Mental Illness Photo Project. Dior is a proud advocate for mental health, drawing on her Latina and queer identities to smash stigmas associated with mental health in these communities. She has worked with the Obama administration as a White House Champion of Change as well as serving as a crisis counsellor for the Crisis Text Line, doing crucial work to help shift the narrative about mental health.

Another woman working at the institutional level to challenge mental health biases is Saima Wazed. Saima was the 2025 recipient of the Mental Health Award 2025 awarded by the Annual International Mental Health Conference, and is a strong advocate for greater understanding of mental health and autism. She is a licensed school psychologist and the Regional Director of the WHO for the South-East Asia Region, one of the first times a regional director has been a mental health expert. She also served as the global autism advocate of the WHO’s Expert Advisory Panel on mental health and has contributed to the groundbreaking mental health national framework in Bangladesh, in particular highlighting the role climate change has on the issue.

Another incredible woman who understands the complex relationships between mental health, the climate and society is Sia Edward. Sia is the Program Director of Tanzania Community Health Information and Support, and a passionate advocate for mental health, HIV care, and human rights. She adopts a holistic approach to mental health issues, understanding the nuances of the issue and bringing this attitude to her key role in establishing the East African Mental Health Network. The network has led to greater collaboration across the region, allowing activists and clinicians alike to deliver better mental health care and change the narratives around mental health.

There are a number of women working to change the narratives around mental health in popular culture and media, and one who has been doing so consistently for a long time is Jameela Jamil. Jameela uses her large online platform to tackle stigma about mental health and eating disorders in particular, recounting her own experiences of grappling with mental health and bulimia. She has turned her struggle into an incredible platform, I Weigh, which encourages us to value women based on their achievements, not their weight or appearance. In a world driven by social media and increasing evidence that social media can harm mental health, Jameela is a breath of fresh air, challenging the pervasive attitudes about mental health.

Whilst all these women have made hugely important contributions to how we conceive of mental health, they are just a few names in the list of women who work every day to make the world a better place and there are many who will never get the credit they deserve. However, if we want a future with better mental and physical healthcare for us all, we have to ensure we uplift their voices, their diverse perspectives and their expertise, so they can no longer be ignored. The future is female.