Higher levels of women's alcohol consumption have long been attributed to increases in gender equality. However, only limited research examines the relationship between gender equality and alcohol consumption. This study examined associations between five measures of state-level gender equality and five alcohol consumption measures in the United States. Survey data regarding men's and women's alcohol consumption from the 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were linked to state-level indicators of gender equality. Gender equality indicators included state-level women's socioeconomic status, gender equality in socioeconomic status, reproductive rights, policies relating to violence against women, and women's political participation. Alcohol consumption measures included past 30-day drinker status, drinking frequency, binge drinking, volume, and risky drinking. Other than drinker status, consumption is measured for drinkers only. Multi-level linear and logistic regression models adjusted for individual demographics as well as state-level income inequality, median income, and % Evangelical Protestant/Mormon. All gender equality indicators were positively associated with both women's and men's drinker status in models adjusting only for individual-level covariates; associations were not significant in models adjusting for other state-level characteristics. All other associations between gender equality and alcohol consumption were either negative or non-significant for both women and men in models adjusting for other state-level factors. Findings do not support the hypothesis that higher levels of gender equality are associated with higher levels of alcohol consumption by women or by men. In fact, most significant findings suggest that higher levels of equality are associated with less alcohol consumption overall.
The relationship between gender equality and health, especially women's health, is generally assumed to be positive, with higher levels of gender equality leading to improved health. Recent research mostly supports this assumption and improving gender equality is a current public health strategy to improve women's health (Chen, Subramanian, Acevedo-Garcia, & Kawachi, 2005; Jun, Subramanian, Gortmaker, & Kawachi, 2004; Kawachi, Kennedy, Gupta, & Prothrow-Stith, 1999; McAlister & Baskett, 2006; Sen, Östlin, & George, 2007, p. 127; Young, 2001). However, in regards to associations between gender equality and health behaviors, such as alcohol consumption, it is generally assumed that higher levels of gender equality are associated with higher levels of consumption, especially among women. In fact, recent public discussions of women's drinking describe increases in women's risky drinking and blame these changes on feminism and increased gender equality (Clark-Flory, 2008; Morris, 2008; Riddoch, 2009). The assumption that higher levels of gender equality lead to increases in alcohol consumption persists despite the lack of research examining the relationship between gender equality – especially at the macro-level – and women's alcohol consumption.
