What Supports Women’s Well-Being at IE University, And What We Can Learn From It
By Manuela Moscoso
Lately, my feed has been full of advice. Billions of videos telling women how to reduce stress, optimize their routines, unlock their “best self,” wake up at 5am, drink green juice, journal perfectly, and somehow glow through it all.
And don’t get me wrong, I genuinely believe there are holistic ways for women to build a healthier relationship with themselves and their well-being. But when I walk through university corridors and look around, I can’t help but wonder: how are women in this crucial stage of their lives actually doing?
University is not just about deadlines and degrees. These years are formative. Women here are not only coping with academic life, they are actively cultivating resilience, connection, and balance.
Drawing on findings from the Center for Health & Well-Being’s, a clearer picture emerges. Women’s well-being is not shaped only by the difficulties they face. It is also shaped by the intentional effort they make to strengthen their internal resources and their relationships.
A Thriving Foundation: Well-Being Is Already Strong
To understand this, we integrated two major instruments developed by the Center for Health & Well-Being’s Research and Data Insights team:
The Longitudinal Students Well-Being Survey
The Community-Wide Survey
In total, 6,719 participants responded. The Longitudinal Survey gathers data using validated measures of psychological and social functioning. The Community-Wide Survey addresses more sensitive topics such as physical and mental health, stress, loneliness, and help-seeking behaviors.
The broader well-being context at IE is encouraging:
Average life satisfaction: 7.68
81% of students are thriving, with scores between 7 and 10
93.3% feel positive about being at IE
So overall, the foundation is strong.
Are there differences between men and women on campus?
The data suggests nuanced gender differences. These findings should not be interpreted as evidence of innate traits. Rather, they reflect differences in lived experiences and needs. These are differences that institutional structures and services can meaningfully address. Importantly, these patterns are unlikely to be unique to Segovia and appear consistent with broader social trends.
Connection Is a Strength, Not a Distraction
What feels safer than having someone you can call without explaining why, or friends who will sit with you and unpack your day piece by piece?. Beyond being relatable, social connection stands out as a powerful protective factor for women.
From the Segovia report:
Women were more likely to share joys and sorrows with friends.
81% of women call a friend or family member when stressed, compared to 60% of men.
But why does this matter?
According to Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman’s stress and coping theory, stress is not only about the event itself. It is about how individuals interpret that event and whether they believe they have the resources to manage it. When people feel supported by friends, family, or significant others, they are more likely to perceive stressful situations as manageable rather than overwhelming. (Acoba, 2024). Social support therefore reduces perceived stress, increases positive emotions, and buffers against anxiety and depression. It plays a protective and stabilizing role in overall mental well-being.
The data shows something even more important. For women, social support predicts both life satisfaction and academic performance. Connection is not a distraction from achievement. In high-pressure academic environments, relational coping strategies can stabilize performance.
So yes, grab your friends. Plan that study session. Talk during the breaks. You might see your grades improve, but more importantly, you will feel supported while doing it.
Where Stress Shows Up: Collaboration and the Invisible Load
Although overall well-being levels appear similar across genders, stress patterns differ.
For example:
Women ranked working in teams as a greater academic stressor than men.
The report suggests this may reflect concerns about group dynamics. To understand this further, we can draw on the work of Mary Ann Sieghart in The Authority Gap.
Sieghart synthesizes extensive research showing how women’s contributions are often undervalued or made less visible. She describes patterns such as:
Women doing more invisible work, such as organizing, note-taking, and coordinating.
Their ideas being less heard.
Receiving less credit for equivalent contributions.
Taking on emotional labor, such as resolving tensions and maintaining team cohesion.
This reinforces an important insight. Well-being is shaped not only by individual resilience but also by how environments are structured.
Thriving is not just about mindset. It is also about systems.
What Helps Women Thrive: Practical Takeaways
The data does not just inform us. It guides us. Here is how we can translate these insights into everyday practice:
1. Build Support Networks Intentionally
Connection is protection. Identify someone you can call when stress starts rising and maintain that relationship before a crisis hits. Authentic connection is preventive, not reactive.
2. Clarify Roles Early in Group Projects
Before your next group meeting:
Assign one owner per task to ensure clear accountability.
End meetings with a recap of who is responsible for what.
Make invisible labor visible.
If you notice yourself repeatedly coordinating everything, you can calmly say:
“I’ve been doing most of the follow-ups. Can we assign that role explicitly so it’s shared?”
Not accusatory. Structural.Shared clarity reduces hidden overload.
3. Develop Emotional Regulation Tools
Emotional regulation refers to strategies that help manage emotions, impulses, stress responses, and physiological arousal. Some evidence-based practices include:
4. Diversify Coping Strategies
Calling a friend might be your default, and that is great. But try expanding your toolkit:
Take a dance class at the Sports Center.
Set clearer boundaries with your smartphone.
Protect recovery time intentionally.
Why This Matters for Everyone
These findings do not suggest that women need fixing. They challenge us to rethink where strength already exists. Women’s well-being appears closely tied to relational support, reflection, resilience, and emotional regulation. When these drivers are recognized and reinforced, women thrive. When structural stressors such as uneven labor, unclear expectations, and invisible coordination work erode them, well-being weakens.
This is not a story about gender deficits. It is a story about institutional design. Environments that value clarity, sustainable achievement, and meaningful social support do more than improve women’s outcomes. They create healthier, more productive systems overall.
Teams function better when emotional labor is visible. Performance improves when support structures are explicit. Belonging strengthens when contribution is recognized. Universities and workplaces do not produce well-being by accident. It is cultivated through norms, incentives, and daily practices. Design those well, and the gains extend far beyond any single group.
References
Acoba, E. F. (2024). Social support and mental health: The mediating role of perceived stress. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1330720. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1330720
IE Center for Health & Well-being. (2025). 2024–2025 IE University Student Well-Being Report. https://ieconnects.ie.edu/get_file?pid=ab7cf0629a6883064fa208ce8fec58a62246bafdc2b1c71cdb8fc45bece15