Challenges Facing Today’s Women

Maggie McIlroy
June 9, 2025

In today’s society, women face many challenges that persist from day to day. While there are countless challenges plaguing women specifically in Gen Z, five issues stand out the most.

Firstly, women in Gen Z struggle with mental health issues. While mental health issues are common among people, no matter the gender or age, women in Gen Z face a significant amount of stress, anxiety, and depression due to the increasing number of social media platforms.

This brings us to the second challenge of dealing with social standards. Women in Gen Z are often held to a societal standard that is practically impossible to achieve. Social media is a huge contributing factor to this challenge and causes women to constantly compare themselves and strive to fit the mold of what society wants them to be.

The third challenge is career pressure. Women in this generation are reaching a point where they need to decide on the career they want to pursue. This stems from social standards regarding the timeline of life. People expect certain milestones in a person’s life to be achieved at certain times. If these career milestones are not met at the ‘right time,’ one can be judged or ridiculed by society. With career issues like financial stress, gender pay gaps, and job market volatility still present in our society, it is increasingly stressful for women to pick a career field. While this can be an exciting prospect to consider, there is also considerable stress that accompanies planning for a future career.

The fourth challenge women in Gen Z face is regarding safety. Women cannot take a walk in the city without worrying about their safety. This often makes it difficult for women to have true independence because they constantly must be looking over their shoulder if they go somewhere alone.

The final challenge that women of Gen Z face is time management. When there are so many things that beg for women’s attention, it is difficult to stay focused and determined regarding one’s daily and life goals. Time management is an issue for almost everyone, stemming from a lack of drive and discipline.

As one can see, most of these issues stem from societal expectations of what women should be. Not fitting into certain stereotypes, social norms, or timelines causes women specifically to be looked down upon in society. A simple way for society to combat these issues is to be more aware of our mindsets. Allowing people to be who they want to be without being ridiculed or compared to another person will allow for significantly less stressful lives, especially among women of Gen Z. The less we judge others, the happier everyone will be.