Dawn Bonfield MBE
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This is the website of EurIng Dawn Bonfield MBE CEng FIMMM FICE HonFIStructE FWES HonDEng

I am currently Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor of Inclusive Engineering at Aston University, and Founder & Director of Towards Vision, a Company which works towards a vision of diversity and inclusion in engineering. I am Past President and former Chief Executive of the Women's Engineering Society. I am a materials engineer by background and spent many years working in the aerospace industry on composite materials. 
I am the UK representative on the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO) and Deputy Chair of the Women in Engineering Committee focusing on the application of engineering and technology to address the Sustainable Development Goals, with particular emphasis on addressing the disadvantages faced by women. I am also founder of the Magnificent Women social enterprise which celebrates the history of women in engineering, and uses our inspiring heritage to encourage the next generation of engineers.   I am a member of the Engineering Design T level Panel.
In my various roles:
  • I work as a consultant advising companies on diversity and inclusion in engineering: how to change corporate culture; how to recruit more diverse teams; and how to retain talent
  • I am a member of the Royal Academy of Engineering Education and Skills Committee
  • I am a member of the EPSRC Strategic Advisory Team
  • I was named number 2 in the Inclusive Boards Financial Times Top 100 Influential Women in Engineering list in 2019
  • I am developing University undergraduate content on Inclusive Engineering to equip our next generation of engineers with the skills and competencies they need to be inclusive (Further details at here www.inceng.org)
  • I am working with engineering processes to embed inclusivity into mainstream engineering practice through the tools and processes that we use (e.g. accreditation)
  • In 2018 I delivered a year long Year of Engineering Roadshow entitled 'Meet the Parents' taking place throughout the UK
  • I manage a project and website called Magnificent Women, celebrating historical women in engineering
  • I published the Top 100 Historical Women in Engineering List in 2019
  • I am a member of the steering group for the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Diversity and Inclusion in STEM​
  • I am a Board Member of the Commonwealth Engineers Council
Please take a look at the Towards Vision website and get in touch if you would like to contact me about inclusive engineering.
If you are interested in working with me to bring Inclusive Engineering to your business, please get in touch.

Biography Dawn Bonfield MBE CEng FIMMM FICE HonFIStructE FWES HonDEng

Dawn Bonfield MBE has been Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor of Inclusive Engineering at Aston University for the past three years, and is the Founder & Director of Towards Vision, a not-for-profit which works towards a vision of diversity and inclusion in engineering. She is Past President and former Chief Executive of the Women's Engineering Society (WES). Dawn is Deputy Chair of the Women in Engineering Committee of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations working on the application of engineering and technology to address gender inequality globally. Dawn has recently been a member of the Engineering Design T level panel, and serves on a number of educational committees promoting engineering. She manages a social enterprise called ‘Magnificent Women’ which celebrates the history of women in engineering, and she was the founder of International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) which takes place on 23 June annually.
A materials engineer by profession - having studied Materials Science at Bath University - Dawn has worked at AERE Harwell, Citroen Research Centre (Paris), British Aerospace (Bristol), MBDA (Stevenage), and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (London).
Dawn received an MBE in 2016 for 'Services to the promotion of diversity in engineering', and in 2015 Dawn won a WISE Award and an Association Congress Award for the INWED campaign, and in 2016 she won the SEMTA award for Diversity in Engineering. In 2016 she was a finalist in the GEDC Airbus Global Diversity Award, and in 2017 she won the Women's Business Council STEM 'Starting Out' award. In 2019 she was named as number 2 in the Inclusive Boards Financial Times Top 100 Women in Engineering List.

She is a member of other groups including:
  • World Federation of Engineering Organisations Women in Engineering Committee
  • EPSRC Strategic Advisory Team
  • T level panel member: Engineering Design
  • Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professors' Management Group and E4E committee
  • Member of Bath University Court
  • Patron at Alton Convent School, Hampshire
  • External Athena Swan Advisory Group Member, City University

Please read my blogs and twitter feed (@dawnbonfield) for an idea of my work and thoughts, and please contact me if you have any comments or suggestions.


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