What we have found from our research is that the factors which drive wellbeing for men and women are generally the same, apart from … how they handle their emotions and how they look after themselves physically.

From an emotional perspective, in comparison to their male counterparts women in senior leadership roles are:

  • more likely to reflect and proactively address and change the aspects of their thoughts, feelings and behaviours that they don’t like
  • more likely to express their emotions constructively
  • and less likely to avoid dealing with big problems in life

From the point of view of their physical vitality and energy, female executives are:

  • more likely to eat nutritiously at work
  • better in tune with where stress shows up in their bodies
  • and much less likely to rely on alcohol or drugs to de-stress and relax.

Whilst we must always remember that group averages do not apply equally to all individuals, we think these findings nevertheless hold useful clues as to where the focus of executive development, coaching and change interventions could be directed in the future.

This research is based on the responses of 106 Australian executives, 54% female and 45% male using the MEWS survey of executive wellbeing.

We’d like to hear your thoughts… how do you see the drivers of wellbeing differ between men and women in senior executive roles, and what should we be doing with these insights?

The Global Leadership Wellbeing Survey (GLWS®) is a powerful
new measure of wellbeing designed exclusively for senior leaders and their teams.