The theme this year for International Women's Day is Balance the Scales — a promise that every woman should be safe, heard, and free to shape their own life.
Where do women with ADHD fit in this picture? For decades, the healthcare system worldwide has failed women with ADHD, and we've been denied the same healthcare and access to treatment as men with ADHD.
In school, my report cards featured contradictory phrases like, “Lizzy is 'disruptive' or ‘zoned out’ in class”, accompanied by “she’d do so much better if she just applied herself”. All the while securing A’s on tests and assignments and going on to graduate top of my class in some subjects. Make it make sense.
This narrative followed me into adulthood. In my 20s, I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. It wasn’t until I was almost 30 that the root of it all came out. It wasn’t a personality flaw. It wasn’t “laziness”, I wasn’t just a “daydreamer” — it was undiagnosed ADHD.
Diagnosing ADHD
Historically, ADHD was more commonly diagnosed in boys than girls, and it was also thought that they grew out of it into adulthood. The research focused more on boys and had less consideration for girls because they presented differently to boys, and in ways that were more socially acceptable.
The result is an unfathomable number of women and girls living with undiagnosed ADHD struggling with characteristics they don’t understand, and being misdiagnosed with anxiety or depression, when the root cause is ADHD.
Newer research identifies that there are different types of ADHD and that they present in people differently, particularly in girls who are taught from a young age to mask and adhere to societal norms.
It turns out, my anxiety and depression were symptoms of a systemic bias that focused too much on the impulsive, hyperactive ‘Bart Simpson’ stereotype of ADHD, and failed to consider that the diagnostic criteria could have been lacking.
The staggering reality of inequity
The data speaks for itself when it comes to healthcare inequity for women: the average age for an ADHD diagnosis in Australian women is 36. For me, it was 32. For boys, it's 12.
That 24-year gap represents years of lost potential, years spent internalising the message that you’re worthless, and years developing poor coping mechanisms and burning out.
As women, we deserve to be seen and diagnosed earlier.
The mask of womanhood
So where did this gap come from? Why are women so hard to diagnose?
One reason is that women are generally better at something called ‘masking’: a social ‘camouflaging’ of sorts where we hide our neurodivergent traits to appear "normal".
Women are also more likely to be diagnosed with "inattentive type" ADHD, which presents as more forgetful and distracted rather than hyperactive, making it harder to diagnose. Inattentive ADHD is also often mistaken for anxiety or mood disorders.
Isn’t it about time we stopped hiding who we are?
The cost of undiagnosed ADHD
The consequences of this gendered diagnostic gap are catastrophic to self-worth. An undiagnosed ADHD child receives 20,000 more negative messages by age 10 than a neurotypical peer.
Is it any wonder so many women with late diagnoses develop anxiety, depression, and a crushing sense of self-criticism?
The constant effort to keep up in a neurotypical world can mean overwhelm, struggling with disorganisation and time management, and difficulty following directions, which is exhausting and leads to burnout.
By developing coping mechanisms like systems and masking, these compensating behaviours may make it harder to spot the underlying issues, meaning girls go undetected and don’t get a formal diagnosis until adulthood… or even at all.
We need healthcare equity to protect women’s mental health.
The diagnostic correction
My experience of misdiagnosis is tragically common. Women's internal struggles are too often misidentified as anxiety, bipolar disorder, or an eating disorder.
Thankfully, women now make up the fastest-growing cohort of people being diagnosed with ADHD.
A common pathway for women to finally get diagnosed is that their child is diagnosed, and as a mother, it becomes apparent that they share the same struggles in behaviour with their child.
I’m not a mother, so this wasn’t my tale. My psychologist recognised the traits in me back in 2019 when she was diagnosing many other women and framed the question: “Do you think you might have ADHD?”
I’d never considered it. I asked what made her think that, to which she vaguely gestured in my direction as if to say “all of this”.
It was funny, or at least, it is now. You can laugh at that.
We are currently undergoing what researchers are calling a diagnostic correction, not a trend. Historical biases and masking behaviour have caused decades of missed diagnoses, and this is a call to action for the medical community to recognise and validate the female experience of ADHD.
The hormonal factor
Women’s health is complex and chronically underfunded, and research into women and ADHD is no exception.
Oestrogen fluctuations through puberty, perimenopause, or conditions like PMDD can dramatically intensify traits. Side note: Any other PMDD sufferers out there wondering how our mothers, grandmothers, etc. managed through debilitation all those years!? Same.
A study conducted by Monash University even found that nearly all women with ADHD going through menopause have experienced worse symptoms. Just another wonderful thing I get to look forward to in the coming years.
This layer of complexity is routinely missed by the traditional, male-focused criteria. Truly equitable care must account for the unique hormonal journey of women.
The consequences of missed or late ADHD diagnosis go beyond being “unorganised” or having “difficulty concentrating”. It affects self-esteem, makes women highly self-critical, and causes us to question our worth. We have no frame of reference to understand why we struggle so much compared to our peers, which leads to poor coping mechanisms and habits.
Systemic change is happening
The good news is that, in addition to the upward trend in diagnoses for women, meaningful reform is gaining pace across Australia. States like QLD are leading the way by modernising ADHD care and equipping GPs to diagnose and manage it. NSW, SA, WA, ACT, Tasmania and Victoria have also joined the push.
This progress towards accessible, informed care is a win for all of us.
But we can’t continue to leave women behind. The Northern Territory (NT) remains the only Australian jurisdiction yet to announce vital ADHD-related reforms. Access to life-changing diagnosis and support should not be a postcode lottery.
Having grown up in the NT, the likelihood I would have ever been diagnosed as a child, as a girl, and in a remote community was so slim that it’s no wonder I slipped through the cracks.
As a woman, you matter
If any of what you’ve read in this article resonates, please know that you’re not lazy, you’re not broken, and more importantly, you’re not alone.
The struggle is real, and it has a name. This International Women’s Day, let's commit to pushing for accessible, informed, and equitable care for all Australian women and girls.
It’s time to correct a decades-long healthcare injustice for women and girls with ADHD.
Lizzy Garland
Lizzy Garland is the Social Media Manager at Hireup.