diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 8eec702..2f30a78 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ package: README.md LICENSE setup.py test clean-setup
 	@ "$(VENV)/bin/python" setup.py sdist bdist_wheel
 
 publish: package
-	@ [ git symbolic-ref HEAD --short = master ] && { \
+	@ [ "$$(git symbolic-ref HEAD --short)" = master ] && { \
 		echo 'Publishing to PyPi...'; \
 		$(VENV)/bin/python -m twine upload dist/* ; \
 	} || { \