Surprise win for Calderdale based company at NW Homebuilder Awards 2022

The glittering evening took place at Manchester’s character venue, The Albert Hall, with Jenny Powell as MC.

Stopcocks Women Plumbers’ whose founder Hattie Hasan, lives in Todmorden, received an MBE in 2020 are multi-award winners after a 30 year presence, now as a Business Incubator for women plumbers, and a mouthpiece for women in skilled trades through their annual Women Installers Together event.

The small team, consisting of Hasan and Mica May, started the Register of Tradeswomen( RTW) as a not-for-profit after the rise in domestic abuse and killings of women in the first months of lockdown, with proceeds going towards training in DIY and trade skills for survivors of abuse.

RTW were delighted to receive the award after just over a year of trading.

Both companies serve the public and vulnerable women by providing the choice of tradeswomen and skilled plumbers and heating engineers, necessary because the estimated average numbers of women in skilled trades remains around 1 per cent.

Low numbers of role models, isolation and discrimination have, till now, kept numbers low but the work of Stopcocks and RTW brings tradeswomen together online and at events helping provide role models and prevent attrition.

The award recognises the work of Stopcocks over 30 years providing support for women plumbers and heating engineers and of RTW’s innovative initiatives to support survivors of abuse as they empower themselves through training in skilled trades.

Hattie Hasan, founder of Stopcocks and RTW, said of the win: “It’s great when you’re just getting on quietly with something you’re passionate about, and its importance and impact is recognised like this.

"You never know who’s watching!”