Sunday 10 October 2021 marks World Mental Health Day, with this year’s official theme announced by the World Federation for Mental Health as “Mental Health in an Unequal World”. 

The explanation for the theme by WFMH reflects on the “increasingly polarised” world, with inequalities in race and ethnicity and gender identity highlighted during the pandemic. These inequalities can impact on people’s mental health, which and in turn can impact their job prospects and hopes for the future.  

Ciara Duggan explains how employers could therefore take this year’s Mental Health Day not just as an opportunity to review how it looks after employees’ mental wellbeing, but also as a chance to ensure that it is addressing inequalities in its own workplace.