I 'm sure Emmeline Pankhurst would be proud. Today, she and her fellow suffragettes would be able to celebrate securing women the vote down the pub.
She would be able to enjoy an exciting range of drinks and great food in comfortable surroundings without fear of intimidation. All this in a place that 90 years ago was inhabited by a largely male, working-class, beer-drinking clientele. Back then pubs were places women wouldn't go to alone. If they did everyone knew what she was there for, and it wasn't the beer.
Some people will say things haven't changed, others will say women have been completely accepted into pubs. I believe many experiences in pubs as a woman are excellent, but some are still less than great. But generally, in 2009 the pub is much more of a place that women want to be and will spend their money in.
Many men might ask why the Morning Advertiser has an issue focusing on women in the pub trade, and ideas and brands that can help entice females into your pub. Many women will know why.
So what makes a pub female-friendly? We aren't talking pink decor, doilies and chintz. Suggestions include good food, clean toilets, pub teams and events for women, a wide range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, a warm welcome and the safety of the pub's location.
But many of these things are also important to men. So, is a female-friendly pub just a well-run friendly pub? It probably is and perhaps to attract more customers in general, whatever their sex, more licensees could do with getting more in touch with their pub's feminine side.
How exciting it is to see more women running their own pubs. Sisters doing it for themselves have done such a good job that several pub companies are now going all out to attract more female licensees to the industry. A third of managers at Orchid are women. We are increasingly seeing independent, sassy, enterprising females giving men a run for their money.
It is also inspiring to see more women working in pub kitchens, not just as the licensee's wife cooking up their home-made recipes but as professional chefs, carving out a career in this historically male-dominated industry.
The corridors of senior management within pubcos are being increasingly well walked by high heels. How much harder these women have had to work, the extra sacrifices they have had to make or if their pay is equal to their male counterparts, we don't know but let's hope so. And more women are writing about the traditionally boys' zones of beer and pubs (for example the MA's editorial team is 50% female).
The pub has certainly become more female friendly and the trade more female influenced, which I believe is for the good of the industry as a whole. But Venus needs to continue to rise…