Why we need to meet women where they are to improve alcohol support
By Karen Tyrell, CEO of Drinkaware
International Women’s Day is a moment to celebrate women’s resilience, leadership and openness. It is also an opportunity to reflect on how women’s lived experiences are still too often overlooked in the design of health and wellbeing support.
When it comes to alcohol, the story for women in the UK is nuanced. Many women are already making intentional choices about their drinking. For example, 46% of female drinkers currently drink low and no-alcohol products versus 43% of male drinkers, this is equivalent to almost 11 million people.1 In recent years, more women are choosing to drink less but there is still work to do to help women better understand their drinking and it's potential impact on their health.
Alcohol-related harm still affects millions of women. Around one in ten female drinkers binge drink weekly (more than six units in a single session), and an estimated 2.6 million women in the UK are drinking above the Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk guidelines, placing them at an elevated risk of harm.2
This distinction is about recognising that women’s relationship with alcohol is shaped by different biological, social, and cultural realities than men. Our medical and support systems have notoriously been rooted in sexism and haven’t always been designed with these realities in mind. If we’re serious about reducing alcohol harm, we need to meet women where they are and not expect them to fit into systems that were never built around their lives.
What kind of support works for women
For women, our research shows they are less likely than men to seek information about cutting back from GPs, friends or online forums, and more likely to seek discreet, trusted information from sources like the NHS website and alcohol charities.3
This suggests support for women works best when it is low stigma, non-judgemental and accessible privately.
Community-led prevention still has an important role to play. For women, this may look less like traditional group-based support and more like supportive social norms, visible public conversations, and credible information embedded in everyday settings. This aligns with wider public health evidence that social norms and stigma reduction are key drivers of behaviour change, particularly for alcohol-related harm.4
Why women’s needs are different
Women’s relationship with alcohol is shaped by biological and social factors that differ from men’s. Biologically, women process alcohol differently, so women are also at higher risk of certain alcohol-related harms at lower levels of consumption than men, including some cancers.5
Socially, women are more likely to combine paid work with unpaid caring and domestic responsibilities. Data from the Office for National Statistics shows women continue to take on more unpaid care, increasing time pressure, and stress.6 For some, alcohol can become a coping mechanism within these pressures, but women may be more open to reflecting on its impact. Our research shows women are more likely than men to want to cut down after experiencing physical effects or feeling embarrassed or learning about long-term health risks.7
Not all women share these experiences, but patterns matter. When women’s lives look different, support needs to look different too.
The service design gap
Alcohol support services have historically been shaped around male drinking patterns and help-seeking behaviours.8 Men make up over two-thirds of people in alcohol treatment in England, contributing to male-dominated environments.9
Some treatment settings can feel unsafe or unsuitable for women, particularly those with experiences of violence. Practical barriers such as childcare and cost can further limit access.10
Traditional clinical and crisis-led models do not always fit around women’s lives and stigma is an additional major barrier. Our research shows that women are more likely than men to worry about being labelled or judged if they seek help.11
Designing better services for women means creating systems that reflect how women actually live and engage with support.
Signs of progress and what needs to change
This International Women’s Day, the message I want to land is a positive one. Women are already making positive changes. Many are moderating their drinking, reflecting on their health, and seeking credible information when they need it. The system needs to catch up.
Designing alcohol support around women’s lives is not special treatment. It is effective public health. It means recognising biological differences and acknowledging social pressures and caring responsibilities. It means tackling stigma head-on and building services that are flexible, accessible, non-judgemental, and grounded in how women actually live.
If we want to reduce alcohol harm, we have to meet women where they are and design support that works with women’s strengths, not against their realities.
At Drinkaware, we aim to keep evolving how we reach and support women, in step with how people access information and support today.
References
[1] [2] [3] [7] [11] Pearson, A. and Slater, E. (2025). Relationships with alcohol. Drinkaware Monitor 2025. [online] PS Research and Drinkaware. Available at: https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/research/drinkaware-monitors/drinkaware-monitor-2025.
[4] Morris, J. and Schomerus, G. (2023). Why stigma matters in addressing alcohol harm. Drug and Alcohol Review, 42(5). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13660.
[5] How does alcohol affect women? Drinkaware. [online] Available at: https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/facts/health-effects-of-alcohol/general-health-effects/alcohol-and-women.
[6] Office for National Statistics (2016). Women shoulder the responsibility of ‘unpaid work’. [online] Ons.gov.uk. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/articles/womenshouldertheresponsibilityofunpaidwork/2016-11-10.
[8][9] UK Parliament Health and Social Care Committee. (2025). Written evidence submitted by Change, Grow, Live. Evidence to the UK Parliament Health and Social Care Committee. Available at: https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/142912/html/#_edn1
[10] McCrady, B.S., Epstein, E.E. and Fokas, K.F. (2020). Treatment interventions for women with alcohol use disorder. Alcohol Research: Current Reviews, 40(2). doi: Available at: https://doi.org/10.35946/arcr.v40.2.08.