Ladies, Let's Celebrate International Women's Day with Wellness

International Women’s Day is March 8th—it’s a time to both promote women’s rights and celebrate women’s achievements across the globe.  

Women are a pretty great crew (Betty White, hi!), and we’ve got a lot to be proud of (Greta Thunberg and Malala come to mind). Despite such achievements—even in 2020—we see women fall behind men when it comes to wellness.

Women struggle more than men to be healthy

In the 2020 Mindbody Wellness Index, we asked more than 20,000 Americans what obstacles they face in healthy living. Across the top nine obstacles to healthy living, women are more likely than men to say they struggle. Nineteen percent of men report facing no obstacles; only 14% of women say the same.

Women are working hard to help others before they help themselves

As part of the same survey, we also asked Americans about their community activities. Women are more likely than men to go to their kids’ school activities (28% vs. 22% went in the past year). They're also more likely to volunteer for non-profit organizations in their communities; 25% of women said they do compared to 23% of men. When it comes to professional development, though, men take the lead. Sixteen percent of men attended a professional networking event in the past year; 14% of women say the same.  

It’s a real put-on-your-oxygen-mask-before-you-assist-others situation here. Women need to be healthy if they’re going to help their families, friends, and communities. Ladies, let’s take a moment to focus on our wellness this International Women’s Day. It starts with the seven dimensions of wellness—physical, emotional, social, intellectual, occupational, spiritual, and environmental.

Here are some ways to enrich your wellness (and combat those obstacles to healthy living)

Knowing how much harder it is for women to stay healthy throughout the year, we propose women all around the world take a moment for their own wellness. Keeping in mind the obstacles to healthy living that women face, we’ve got a couple of suggestions.  

Get into group fitness classes to increase your support system and make yourself accountable

Intro offers are an inexpensive way to try new fitness modalities and find your fitness tribe (we all need that accountability and support system). Many fitness studios also offer community classes that give locals a chance to try their classes for free.  

In our Fitness Trends in America report, we found that people who work out more frequently report being happier than those who work out less. Those who opt for group workouts, like fitness classes, are the happiest. If that isn’t a great reason to sweat, I don’t know what is.  

Don’t have time (or money) for a full service? Go express

Express beauty and grooming services are becoming increasingly popular. While 8% of Americans have booked express facials in the past, 48% are eager to try them. Even medspas are taking advantage of the express format (29% are looking to try express medspa studios).  

For those who are busy working, taking care of family, or just straight hustling, express services are a great way to try something new that boosts your wellness. In our Salon Trends in America report, we saw that people who got services regularly reported feeling closer with their community than those who got services infrequently (social wellness for the win!).  

It’s time for women to take a little time for themselves. Men, as it turns out, get an average of 10 grooming services a year; women only 7.8 beauty services. Men even spend more on wellness services, spending an average of $32 a month. Women only spend $22 monthly on wellness services. While 54% of men say they’re working out three times a week or more, only 43% of women are getting that many workouts in.  

It’s time to settle the score and tackle those obstacles to wellness already.  

Book wellness for yourself today.