20821 A&O Alumni Yearbook 2016_pages

PROFILE: NICKY MORGAN MP
LIFE IN
THE PUBLIC
EYE
Alumna Nicky Morgan believes lawyers have a great
deal to contribute in public life. If proof were needed,
look no further than her own career as an MP.
he Rt Hon Nicky Morgan
is the Conservative MP for
T Loughborough. She entered
parliament in 2010 and served as
Secretary of State for Education and Minister
for Women and Equalities until July 2016. She
is also an A&O alumna, having been an
associate in the Corporate team from 1998-
2002. However, despite the business and
pressures of life in government, she is still
using lessons learned from her time at A&O.
BEING A WOMAN AT THE TOP
IN POLITICS IS A SIGNIFICANT
ACHIEVEMENT. WHAT’S BEEN YOUR
GREATEST CHALLENGE SO FAR, LOOKING
PARTICULARLY AT WOMEN IN POLITICS?
The greatest challenge has been getting
used to being in the public eye. The
negative language used about women, the
casual misogyny, the emphasis on what you
look like, rather than what you say – that all
takes some getting used to. We still live
in a world where those covering politics
tend to be male and they expect you
to behave in a male way. That’s something this
generation of female members of parliament is
challenging – commentators need to realise
women are not going to do that anymore.
LOOKING BACK, AND PLOTTING YOUR
JOURNEY, HOW DID YOU FIND YOUR
TIME AT A&O SHAPED YOUR CAREER?
I was always interested in politics. At Oxford
I was treasurer of the Union and involved in
the University Conservatives. At the back of
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