Barriers to women advancing in their careers, or following a particular career path, can include a lack of diverse and visible role models, as well as a shortage of professional networks to help them.
As part of International Women in Engineering Day (INWED22), Academy’s CEO, Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, chaired a discussion with Elspeth Finch MBE FREng, CEO of IAND, which included an audience Q&A session.
Elspeth reflected on this year's focus on innovation and the importance of inclusion in this space, sharing perspectives from her own journey.
Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE
Hayaatun is CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation. She co-chairs with the Science Minister the government’s Business Innovation Forum and co-chaired with Sir Lewis Hamilton his Commission on improving Black representation in motorsport. She is a trustee of various charities, member of the government’s Levelling Up Advisory Council and Digital Skills Council and NXD at construction company Laing O’Rourke. She has been named as one of the ‘Inspiring 50’ women in tech in Europe and one of the most influential women in both UK engineering and UK tech. She has a Masters in Biochemistry (MBiochem) from Oxford and a PhD from Cancer Research UK/UCL. She is a Fellow of the IET, Honorary Professor at UCL and Honorary Fellow at The Queen’s College, Oxford. She has received honorary doctorates from UCL, Imperial College London, Newcastle, Brunel, Huddersfield and Southampton, as well as a Science Suffrage Award and the Engineering Professor’s Council President’s Medal. She was a finalist for the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award and was made a CBE for services to International Engineering in 2019. Prior to her current roles, she was Deputy CEO at the Academy and served as Committee Specialist and later Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Science & Technology Committee.
Elspeth Finch MBE FREng
Formerly the UK Innovation Director for Atkins, Elspeth is the CEO and Founder of IAND. Initially graduating as a chemist, Elspeth later turned her hand to transport and urban design, demonstrating business and technical leadership on over 100 transport planning projects both nationally and around the world. Elspeth chairs the Enterprise Hub’s Innovators Network and is a judge for the Hub’s Launchpad Competition. She is also a member of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. In 2017, Elspeth was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her services to engineering and enterprise. IAND is a digital platform that helps major enterprises manage multiple suppliers. IAND integrates data, systems and workflows delivering 360° intelligence of all supplier relationships, from finance to risk, ESG to performance.