of workers who experienced violence or harassment shared the experience with someone.
Evidence & Resources
Communication, empathy and psychological safety
The first response can shape whether the conversation continues.
Women do not need managers to diagnose them. They need conversations where they can explain work impact, retain privacy and explore practical support without ridicule, disbelief or penalty.
Health, healthcare and work are connected.
Global evidence snapshot
Scale, context and equity matter.
of those affected experienced more than one form of violence or harassment.
reported sexual violence or harassment at work, compared with 5.0% of men.
What the evidence says
Start with what is established.
01
The health evidence
Psychological safety involves being able to raise concerns without fear of humiliation or punishment.
02
The wider context
WHO mental-health-at-work guidance supports manager capability and organisational action.
03
What matters
Communication quality affects trust, disclosure, follow-through and whether support is used.
Working-life lens
The impact can appear in more than absence.
01
Capacity and participation
Women may rehearse, minimise or delay disclosure because the response feels uncertain.
02
Systems and access
Managers may avoid the conversation when they lack language, authority or referral pathways.
03
Trust and disclosure
Silence can preserve immediate comfort while allowing risk and impact to continue.
From evidence to practice
Support begins with a respectful, individual response.
01
Listen first
Listen, acknowledge, clarify work impact and ask what may help.
02
Design practical support
Be honest about authority and explain the next step before sharing information.
03
Protect dignity
Follow up: a respectful opening without action can still erode trust.
Women Working Well’s research purpose
What Women Working Well is seeking to understand.
Women Working Well exists to investigate the questions that remain unseen or unanswered: what is missing from the evidence, whose experiences are under-represented, and how women’s health, healthcare, working life and life beyond work connect. These topic-specific priorities help shape the Global Women and Work Study.
01
What is missing
Empathy is often promoted without consistent behavioural measures.
02
Who is under-represented
Research should examine what women experience after the first conversation.
03
What research should connect
Evidence is needed across cultures, languages and manager-worker power differences.
Sources and further reading
Global evidence and authoritative guidance.
These sources support the key statements on this page. Statistics are contextual, time-bound and should be read with their source definitions. Evidence from one country, occupation or health condition should not automatically be generalised to all women.
World Health Organization — Guidelines on mental health at work →WHO and ILO — Mental health at work policy brief →Safe Work Australia — Psychosocial hazards →World Health Organization — Mental health at work →ILO — Experiences of violence and harassment at work: global survey →
Important: This page provides general evidence and workplace information. It is not medical, legal or employment advice and does not replace individual clinical care or professional advice.
Keep exploring
See the connected evidence picture.
Return to the Evidence & Resources Hub or explore the Global Women and Work Study.
Evidence & Resources →