Women managers doing it tough

Women managers are facing a unique set of pressures compared to their male counterparts, becoming the "sounding board" for stressed out teams, often with little or no support for themselves, according to a former pharma executive turned Australian mindset and impact coach.

Kylie Brennan, who has worked across pharma including almost 12 years at Novartis, said while all managers, regardless of gender, are doing it tough and experiencing increased levels of stress, fatigue and burnout - women leaders are facing specific challenges.

"Women in particular tend to become sounding boards for the team and female leaders are reporting higher incidence of teams expressing fear about job insecurity and cost of living pressures," she said.