A recent study from the researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have found that modern women are catching up with men in the booze stakes – and apparently, it’s all down to World War II.
After the war ended in 1945, the role of women in the work force changed dramatically and they found themselves working alongside men in what used to be male dominated environments.
According to the study, due to be published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, this post-war shift in women’s working lives paved the way for modern working women to enjoy the freedom of socialising and working with men today.
However, it also means that women are consuming more alcohol and regularly go on binge drinking benders. As a result, the number of alcohol related problems among working women are also on the rise.
“Women have many opportunities that were once specific to men: Workforce participation, higher education, economic independence,” says Dr Richard Grucza from Washington University School of Medicine. “These changes have also brought women into drinking cultures that may exist on campus, in the workplace, and elsewhere.”