Over 50 SF Bars Celebrate 55-Year Anniversary of Women's Right to Tend Bar

Wednesday marked the 1971 anniversary when women won the right to work as bartenders in California. The city provided a list of over 50 women-owned bars for a weeklong celebration called The Equal Pour. The event recognized the California Supreme Court decision that ended the state’s ban on women bartenders. Over 50 San Francisco women-owned bars participated, led by the Horseshoe Tavern. The celebration also emphasized women’s ongoing role in the city’s bar industry, with the mayor stopping by and guest women bartenders taking shifts. Women entered bartending in large numbers during World War II, but bans returned after the war, including in California until 1971. The legal fight reportedly involved a topless San Francisco bar and the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control department, and similar bans were overturned in New York in 1971.

"Wednesday marked the anniversary of the big day that women won the right to work as bartenders in the state of California in 1971, and in celebration, the city has provided a list of over 50 women-owned bars to support every day of the week. Wednesday's event, dubbed The Equal Pour, recognized the 1971 California Supreme Court decision that struck down the state's ban on women bartenders, as KPIX reports."

"Over 50 San Francisco women-owned bars reportedly participated in the citywide celebration led by the Horseshoe Tavern. Brooke Janser, who co-owns the Horseshoe with two other women, said the celebration was also meant to highlight the role women continue to play throughout the city's bar industry. This is personal to me because I've been bartending in this city and state for 23 years and I co-own [the bar] with two other women, Janser said, speaking to Broke-Ass Stuart."

"Mayor Daniel Lurie stopped by the tavern Wednesday night to recognize the anniversary, while guest women bartenders took shifts behind the bar, per KPIX. According to Broke-Ass Stuart, women entered the bartending industry in large numbers during World War II as they took on jobs traditionally held by men, earning the nickname Bessie the Bartender. But after the war, several states moved to ban women from tending bar, including California, which kept its restriction in place until 1971."

"The California Supreme Court ultimately struck down the ban after a legal fight reportedly involving a topless San Francisco bar and the state's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Women were broadly banned from tending bar across the country in the post-Prohibition era. New York State also had a ban on female bartenders that was similarly struck down in 1971."

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