Just over a year ago, I wrote an article for The Engineer about my journey in engineering, navigating a sector that often made me feel like I didn’t belong. I shared my experiences of discrimination and exclusion, and the power of networks such as InterEngineering. What I could never have predicted was the response the article received, or just how much would happen in the twelve months that followed.
That article marked a turning point. I was about to step away from a decade-long career in automation engineering, having progressed from sales engineering into senior management for a number of global manufacturers. I worked across sectors including construction, mining, forestry, and agriculture, delivering solutions for increased productivity, efficiency, and safety, with a solid track record of success. And yet, my visible advocacy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work made me a target. I was told that my efforts to make the workplace safer for others were “a distraction,” “career-limiting,” and “making people uncomfortable.”
It was at this point that I chose to stop trying to fit into a system that clearly was not designed for me, and instead I turn that same engineering mindset of systems thinking and problem-solving towards embedding inclusion into engineering.
In the twelve months that have followed that article, I’ve been named as one of the Top 100 Manufacturing Professionals in the UK by The Manufacturer. I’ve chaired part of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Annual Diversity and Inclusion Conference, delivered keynote speeches and guest lectures across the UK at institutions like Imperial College London, the Institute of Government and Public Policy, the Commercial Vehicles Show, and Automation UK, and just this month I delivered my first TEDx Talk at Heriot-Watt University – a genuinely surreal moment.
The irony of this success is not lost on me. I’m incredible grateful for the opportunities I’ve had this year, but there is a bittersweet quality to being celebrated by the same industry that pushed me out. Rather than dampening my resolve, however, it fuels it.
Perhaps the most meaningful moment of this year came when I was shortlisted for the Positive Role Model (LGBT) Award at the 2025 National Diversity Awards. This is a recognition that came from over 85,000 nominations, with just 125 finalists named across ten categories, and I’m deeply honoured to stand alongside other such incredible LGBTQ+ leaders and change-makers. It feels deeply personal, given the sacrifices that brought me here.
As I said in the press release: “This nomination is clear validation of the work we do in engineering. It’s proof that change is possible when we lead with care, show up for one another, and refuse to accept that exclusion is just ‘how things are.’”
That last part matters, because my experience in engineering was that it was accepted as just ‘how things are.’ Throughout my technical career, I was routinely isolated, questioned, and undermined not for my performance, but because I wasn’t what many expected an engineer to look or sound like.
I was recently interviewed by BBC Radio Shropshire about being named as a finalist for the National Diversity Awards, and the video of that interview is included at the end of this post.
This year has proven the opposite of what I was told as being myself has not limited me, it has liberated me. My work now spans engineering-focused DEI training, research, consulting, public speaking, co-chairing InterEngineering, and completing a Doctorate researching inclusion in engineering alongside my professional duties. My mission is not just to make our sector more diverse, but genuinely safe for everyone.
My TEDx Talk was built around a simple idea: as engineers, we are trained to optimise systems. When a system underperforms, is inefficient, or is unsafe, we monitor it and redesign it to improve these, and yet we rarely apply that same engineering thinking to our workplaces or monitoring the people behind those machines. When people underperform, burn out, or disengage, we often label them as unfit, uncommitted, or lacking resilience, without questioning the environment around them and how this might be what is broken.
We need to start applying the same rigour to inclusion as we do to quality control – this might help us stop seeing DEI as a ‘nice-to-have’ and see it for what it really is. Culture is a system, and inclusion is the outcome of good design.
The data supports this. I found in my research that nearly 72% of LGBTQ+ respondents in the Electrical and Automation Engineering sector reported witnessing or experiencing discrimination – more than in other engineering disciplines. However, those who felt psychologically safe reported higher motivation and productivity, and other studies have found similar results. These clearly aren’t soft metrics – they are critical to performance.
This is why role models matter. In my previous career, I never met another engineer who was Black and Queer from my industry. This lack of a role model or mentor made my journey significantly harder. It chipped away at my confidence bit by bit. I internalised every incident, every microaggression, and every abusive comment, until the cumulative impact became impossible to ignore. Now, I try to be what I didn’t see: not just an advocate, but a visible, proud, successful engineer who is working to change the system.
I’m aware that this past year has taken place against a backdrop of increasing hostility to DEI work. Public discourse has turned even more polarised. Some see inclusion as political, or unnecessary, or even dangerous, but the need is greater than ever.
As Clare Balding CBE, host of this year’s NDA ceremony, recently said: “Recognising the individuals, organisations and charities that go above and beyond to improve their communities is truly vital. These inspiring and uplifting awards shine a spotlight on the incredible strength and positivity of an inclusive society, celebrating community heroes whose dedication and achievements might otherwise go unrecognised.”
To those who told me DEI was a distraction: I’m proud to say it’s now my job.
To those who said it would limit me: it’s brought me into rooms I never thought I’d enter.
And to those navigating similar barriers: I see you. You are not alone. We can build something better.
