GCU launches WHO webinar on gender and alcohol

Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) health researchers are running a world-wide webinar on Women, men and alcohol: Why is gender important in alcohol control policies, backed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Professor Carol Emslie, Dr Elena Dimova and PhD student Annamae Burrows, from the School of Health and Life Sciences (SHLS) Research Centre for Health (ReaCH), received funding from WHO to launch the webinar.

Professor Emslie, ReaCH Substance Use Research Group Lead, said the webinar will raise awareness of the importance of gender when addressing alcohol-related harms, showcase current research evidence and share examples of how communities are addressing these issues.

The webinar will take place on Tuesday, 25 October 2022 from 9.30-11am CET (Central European Time). Register here - https://who.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Kr9NDEaIRdqeWkripZ0ibQ

Professor Emslie added: “The Substance Use Research Group is absolutely delighted to have received funding from the World Health Organization to share our important research and expertise on gender and alcohol around the world.

“This is a major coup, not just for us as researchers, but for the University for the Common Good and is a shining example of how we integrate the UN Sustainable Development Goals that are at the heart of our Strategy 2030 – in particular Goal 3 - good health and wellbeing - into everything we do.

“The webinar will address the following questions: what evidence do we have about whether gender impacts policies which seek to address alcohol availability, affordability and acceptability? What is the role of gender in declining youth drinking? How does alcohol digital marketing target women and men? What can we learn from civil society and community initiatives which focus on gender and alcohol?

“In nearly every country in which research has been carried out, men consume more alcohol than women, and are more likely than women to drink heavily and to develop alcohol problems.

“While women and men’s consumption patterns have become more similar in some countries recently, there is substantial variation in the magnitude of gender differences across the world.

“Men and women’s alcohol consumption is often judged differently, and these responses reflect wider gender norms in different societies.

“Gendered understandings of identity are also exploited in alcohol product development, targeting and marketing, with some brands aligning with masculinity and potency, and others with ‘girly’ femininity or women’s empowerment.”

The Less Alcohol Unit of the Department of Health Promotion at the World Health Organisation, the University of Auckland Centre for Addiction Research and Victoria University of Wellington School of Health are also involved in organising the event.

Photo (left to right) shows Dr Elena Dimova, Annamae Burrows and Professor Carol Emslie.