Get a job behind the bar and help your community assets survive this Dry January
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DRY January may seem an odd time to consider a career in the pub trade – but a new trend is seeing a rise in women taking the reins. The number of boozers in England and Wales has fallen below 39,000 for the first time, with 34 shutting each month on average, data company Altus Group says.
![[Woman in red dress standing in front of Queen's Park Cafe.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/newspress-collage-o84622pdi-1736457667662.jpg?1736457692&strip=all&w=960)
But there is also a growing recognition of the vital role pubs play in our culture. Research from property portal Zoopla found a quarter of house buyers want a home near a good pub. And boozers are increasingly touted by mental health experts as a “third place” — somewhere that’s not work or home — to connect with friends.
![[Woman in red dress holding a pint of beer in a pub.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/735a7c91-70c8-4a5d-9be8-7e04dfa7c251.jpg?strip=all&w=798)
Many of the nation’s most successful pubs are now run by women. While around ten per cent of new venues are launched by females, the number who are publicans and managers has risen by 133 per cent, from 9,000 to 21,000, over the last four years. Around one in three publicans in the UK is a woman — but pub chains are urging more to join the trade.
![[Charlie O’Brien, Head of People at Breathe HR.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/charlie-o-brien-head-people-962391884.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Leading the charge is Admiral Taverns, with more than half the firm’s pubs run by females. Former mortgage adviser Annie Kane decided it was time to get her own house in order, and switched careers to pull pints as a pub landlady. Now Annie, 56, from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, runs two boozers on the same street in Glasgow for Admiral Taverns.
![[Headshot of Sheeraz Gulsher, co-founder of People Like Us.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/26414523-a43a-4398-858e-6e557947f1b3.jpg?strip=all&w=914)
