What has been the most challenging aspect of your career so far? The most challenging aspect of my career was my MS diagnosis. I had to rethink everything and still come out with a positive result because I had a family who relied on me and I couldn’t let everything go. It’s funny that you might plan your career when you are younger, but actually, life has a habit of throwing curveballs in the way. You just need to be calm and work out how to make the best of what comes at you. I had already decided to move into a management position, three months before my diagnosis. It was very fortunate that I was offered the job and was able to take it up, even with my diagnosis. Having a more desk-based job really helped me and I was able to carry that job out, for a further 10 years. My disease progression has meant that I had to do another stock take two years ago and retire on ill-health grounds. I am a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), a trustee and Vice President of the IET chairing the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Board. My voluntary work is important to me, but I must be very careful about the hours I commit, due to my health. I have a lot of experience and I feel it’s important to keep contributing while I can; so I started my own company because it was clear from my years of being a disabled engineer that the engineering industry does not understand how to design with inclusion in mind and accessibility is not of paramount importance. With the help of a team of brilliant partners and associates, Towards Belonging Ltd acts as a bridge between the disabled community and the engineering industry, to help engineers understand why inclusive engineering design is so important and give disabled people a voice. As part of this work, I am a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor at Aston University and the University of Huddersfield. I specialise in inclusive engineering design, to help new engineers learn how to ensure their designs are inclusive and accessible for everyone. Which achievement or project are you most proud of, and what impact has it had on your company or the industry? I am most proud of my young woman engineer of the year award. This award, whilst at the beginning of my career in 2006, help set my path to achieve great things. It gave me the opportunity to learn how to speak to audiences with confidence. It gave me the opportunity to sit on strategic boards and experience opportunities I would never have been given without it. What aspects of your job do you find the most enjoyable and fulfilling? One of the most fulfilling things I do is mentoring. I have two early career mentees at the moment. It is great to see their progress on a monthly basis and to help advise them in their career choices.
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