Women and workplace mental health: a systematic literature review and future research agenda

Purpose Women form a large and growing share of the global workforce, yet they carry a disproportionate share of unpaid care work and experience higher rates of common mental disorders, which makes their workplace mental health an economic as well as a public-health concern. Evidence on this issue remains fragmented across disciplines, sectors and regions. This review consolidates two decades of research (2006–2026) to map its theories, contexts, characteristics and methods, to develop an integrated conceptual model, and to set a structured agenda for future research. Methodology Following PRISMA 2020, a Scopus search returned 664 records (663 after removing one duplicate), of which 84 studies met the eligibility criteria. Study quality was appraised with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT 2018), keyword co-occurrence was mapped in VOSviewer, and the evidence was synthesised using the Theory, Context, Characteristics and Methodology (TCCM) framework. Findings Publications have risen sharply since 2020, a period that coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2026: n = 51, 60.7% of the corpus). India and the USA (n = 12 each) dominate, followed by Malaysia (n = 8), while Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America are under-represented. JD-R model (n = 11), Border Theory (n = 8) and COR Theory (n = 6) are most used. Most studies are cross-sectional surveys (60.7%), with few longitudinal (9.5%) and experimental (4.8%). Three thematic clusters are identified: Work-Family Conflict, Burnout and Emotional Distress; Gender, Stress and Mental Health; Occupational Stress and Work-Life Balance. Originality This is the first review to apply the TCCM framework to women’s workplace mental health. TCCM moves the synthesis beyond description by exposing theoretical fragmentation (limited use of intersectional and feminist lenses), contextual blind spots (the Global South and under-studied sectors), under-examined characteristics (moderators and life stage) and methodological gaps (few longitudinal and experimental designs). Anchored in Conservation of Resources theory, an integrated model links antecedent (work demands, family demands, organisational culture, individual characteristics), proximal stressors (work–family conflict and occupational stress), mediators (work-life balance, job satisfaction, emotional intelligence, recovery experiences) and consequences (burnout, turnover intention, psychological well-being, job performance). Implications Because work–family conflict is the main pathway to burnout and psychological distress among working women, organisations can protect women’s mental health by training supervisors in family-supportive behaviours, offering flexible working arrangements backed by anti-presenteeism norms, and giving priority to structural interventions (workload, pay and career equity) over individual coping programmes alone.