#IWD2018 Who Inspires: Claire Sofield?

Name: Claire Sofield

Job title: Sales Director & Co Owner

Company: Four Recruitment

Claire is a business leader, mentor and philanthropist. She has over 15 years’ experience as an expert recruiter and 10 years experience as a business owner having established award winning Four Recruitment in 2008 alongside her brother Phil.

Which woman has inspired you most?

Without a doubt it’s my mum, we lost my dad when I was just 10 years old, and with four children to look after, mum did the most amazing job. She was forced to be fiercely independent, and to deal with some pretty difficult situations with grace and dignity. She gave myself and my siblings the encouragement and direction to get a good education and was determined that we’d all prosper in our careers. She was so incredibly proud of us when myself and my brother Phil established Four Recruitment and later our younger sister Gemma joined us.
She was an amazing person and I feel very lucky to have had her as such an inspiration in my life.

Which famous/historical woman inspires you most?

For me, I don’t use gender as inspiration. It’s a good leader that particularly inspires me, someone who has passion, tenacity, a moral compass, in addition to caring about those people close to them. I’m also incredibly inspired by those who have had it tough, but strived for achievement despite this.

What does feminism mean to you?

It’s all about equality. I believe that the world is a better place when you have a mix of both genders. Both can deliver whatever they strive too, but a harmonious world requires the two to work together in equal measures.

Have you found your industry to be particularly tougher for women? If so, how did you overcome this?

No I definitely haven’t. The world of recruitment is tough for any gender. The industry has a bad reputation, which all consultants – whether male or female – are tarnished with, and this is the main struggle that myself and my team have had to overcome.
Recruitment attracts a pretty even mix of male and females and throughout our 10 years in business we have had times where we’ve had more males than females and vice versa. We find that an equal split of the two is the utopia, it creates a much more stable working environment.

This year’s #IWD2018 theme is #PressForProgress how do you feel, as women we can push for equality faster?

Look at what we have achieved in the last 100 years, we’ve come a long way. There is more work to be done of course, but I think we need to stop comparing the past and move to the future. I look forward to the day when we are no longer talking about feminism because we don’t have to!