They consistently report having negative feelings – anger, sadness, stress and worry – more frequently than men.
And when it comes to anger and stress, the gap is widening.
In 2012 both genders reported both emotions at similar levels, BBC analysis of an annual GallupWorld Poll of 120,000 people in 150 countries found.
But by 2021 women were angrier by a margin of six percentage points – and more stressed too.
It is thought a marked difference around the time of Covid could be linked to them feeling the burden of the pandemic fell disproportionately on them.
A separate 2020 survey of 5,000 parents in England by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that mothers took on more of the domestic responsibilities in lockdown than fathers.
Mike Fisher, psychotherapist and founder of the British Association of Anger Management, whose own study of 12,000 people identified women as much angrier than men, said they have just cause. He explained: “Gender inequality in society, the workplace and the home play a huge part.
“Women aren’t as valued in the workplace and when they hit glass ceilings it’s very hard for them to earn more than that.
In many ways it’s still a man’s world. “When a woman comes home from work she feels she has to do so much more than the man does. When it comes to child-rearing, women again are far more responsible than men.
“A lot of women don’t feel listened to, they don’t feel valued, they don’t feel supported. Then of course they become resentful – they act out their anger.”
However, clinical psychologist Dr Malie Coyne claimed fury can be expressed positively as assertiveness – a positive emotion.
She said: “Being assertive is vital to your emotional well-being. People who lack assertiveness can find themselves holding in anger which ends up coming out in bursts that are inappropriate in other situations.”
