International Women’s Day Interview with Alex Hatchman, Chief Operating Officer at Fletchers Solicitors

Who inspires you and why?   I am genuinely inspired by Emmeline Pankhurst and by all those brave women who risked everything to make Britain a better and fairer place.   In the last couple of years it has become “fashionable” to name-drop Emmeline Pankhurst, however it has been a passion of mine for the best part of a decade.   In 2011 I started collecting suffragette jewellery developing a bit of an eBay addiction in the process!  When I had my daughter in 2013, we named her Emmeline.  We even bought a kitten because her owners had named her Emmeline!   In terms of present day, I am inspired by women such as Dame Helena Morrissey.  Helena is a highly successful business woman, and mother to nine children!   Somehow she found time to establish the “30% Club” in 2010 which has successfully campaigned for greater female representation on company boards.  

    How can you empower women in the workplace?   I think there are three elements to that.   Firstly, it’s important to empower yourself, which was one of the main points in the book “Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.   Secondly, it is my view that successful women have a duty to empower and enable other women, as they understand more personally the challenges and barriers that exist.   Finally, there is a hugely important role for men to play in this and I have been really encouraged by the progress made in the last couple of years.   The #metoo movement was about harassment in the workplace, however I feel that it has also sparked changes more widely, after what can only be described as pedestrian progress over the last 50 years.