You’re Not Crazy, Lazy or Failing — You’re Just a Woman in a World That Wasn’t Built for You

If you’ve ever felt unseen at work, doubted yourself in a room where you knew you belonged or quietly wondered why everything feels just that bit harder — you’re not imagining it.

Many of us carry a hidden load. We carry it through busy mornings and quiet commutes, through meetings, meals and late-night worries. We carry it because we’ve been taught to. And because, for the most part, the systems around us still don’t fully see or support the lives we lead.

Take menopause, for example. Every year in the UK, 1 in 10 women leave their jobs because of menopausal symptoms. That alone costs the economy an estimated £1.88 billion annually. But the real cost isn’t measured in pounds — it’s felt in lost confidence, disrupted careers, and the quiet grief of stepping away from something you’ve worked hard for, simply because support wasn’t there.

This isn’t about blame. It’s about recognition.

We make up 52% of the world’s population, and yet so many of our needs — physical, emotional, professional — remain under-supported. In the workplace, women with children are 35% less likely to be hired, even with identical qualifications. Only 1 in 4 senior leaders is a woman, and only 1 in 20 is a woman of colour. And while the majority of caregiving still falls to us, that unpaid care work — worth $10.8 trillion a year globally — is rarely acknowledged.

Even our health is underserved. Only 2.1% of UK public research funding is dedicated to reproductive health, despite it being central to so many aspects of our lives.

And through it all, we keep going.

We plan, we care, we show up. We listen and hold others, often while carrying our own quiet struggles. And often, we don’t name how hard it can be — because we’re not sure we’re allowed to.

But I’ve learned, in my own life and in the therapy room, that giving voice to what’s real is one of the most powerful things we can do. When we acknowledge what isn’t working — not with blame, but with honesty — we create the space for change.

We need systems that reflect the truth of how people live. Systems that recognise the complexity of women’s lives — our caregiving, our health journeys, our different paths through work. Not linear. Not neat. But deeply valuable.

So if you’ve ever felt like you’re carrying more than your fair share, you probably are.

And you’re not alone.

We don’t need to be louder or tougher or more “together.”

We just need to be heard, understood — and properly supported.

Let’s keep talking, keep sharing, and keep shaping a world that works better for all of us.

Because we deserve that. And more than that — we’re ready.