Mental ill health amongst women, particularly in young women, is rising, while overall rates for men remain the same, particularly for common mental disorders such as anxiety or depression. Mental distress is experienced and presented differently by women versus men as well. Women cope with trauma with self-harm twice more often than men, or engage in sexual relationships that may make them more vulnerable for encountering violence. Young men drop out from school or engage in criminal activities more often. Despite the evidence of these gendered differences, research often does not systematically explore the background and impact of gender differences, or how service design and delivery should answer to that, and policies pursuing this have been lacking. Mental health services frequently fail to take gender into account, which leads to potentially discriminatory or even harmful situations for female patients. In her lecture, Professor Dr Christina van der Feltz-Cornelis will provide an overview of the female perspective in mental health research and needs for service delivery.