Return-to-office mandates are colliding with caregiving strain, fertility challenges, neurodivergence and menopause-related transitions—creating a “lifecycle” mental-health curve where women’s needs intensify at key career stages, and short-term EAP support can fall short without continuity of care.

For employers (and their workplaces), the takeaway is that retention and performance depend on integrated benefits, stigma-free flexibility, and manager capability—illustrated by BGO’s motherhood leadership coaching bridge from parental leave to return to work—explored in How employers can support women’s mental health across their working lives.