4.6 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 23 July 2024
⏱️ 29 minutes
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The engineering industry, like many other STEM sectors, has a problem with diversity: one that Dawn Bonfield believes we can and must fix, if we're to get a handle on much more pressing planetary problems...
Dawn is a materials engineer by background, who held roles at Citroën in France and British Aerospace in the UK. But, after having her third child, she made the difficult decision to leave the industry - as she thought at the time, for good. However a short spell working in post-natal services and childcare gave her new skills and a fresh perspective. This led to Dawn rehabilitating the struggling Women in Engineering Society and creating ‘International Women In Engineering Day’, which has just celebrated its 10th anniversary.
Today, she’s Professor of Practice in Engineering for Sustainable Development at King’s College London, and the founder of Magnificent Women: a social enterprise celebrating the story of female engineers over the past century. She’s also President of the Commonwealth Engineers’ Council and has had her work supporting diversity and inclusion recognised with an MBE.
Dawn talks to Professor Jim Al-Khalili about why 'inclusive engineering' should not be dismissed as tokenism, and why she's optimistic about the engineering sector's power to change the world.
Presented by Jim Al-Khalili Produced by Lucy Taylor
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0:00.0 | He is Brian Cox. |
0:02.8 | Hello. |
0:03.3 | And he understands science. |
0:05.4 | I'm Robin Ince and I don't understand it quite so much. |
0:09.0 | Could he tell us something about the nature of matter? |
0:11.3 | Nope. |
0:12.0 | Okay, good. |
0:13.2 | Together we'll be joined by a collection of experts and non-expert guests. |
0:18.6 | What's going on? |
0:19.8 | Don't you know. |
0:21.6 | Taking a look at some of the most wonderful things |
0:24.4 | in the scientific world. |
0:25.9 | Science with Funny Bits, The Infinite Monkey Cage |
0:29.3 | on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds. B.C. Sounds. Music, Radio Podcasts. |
0:37.0 | Hello and welcome to the podcast edition of The Life Scientific. |
0:40.0 | I'm Jim Alcalie and this is the show where I get to talk with some of the world's leading scientists |
0:45.0 | and you get to find out what drives them. |
0:47.4 | So sit back, get comfortable and enjoy the episode. |
0:50.4 | Today we're talking about diversity in science and more specifically in engineering. |
0:56.0 | Women make up more than half of the UK workforce, just over 56%, but they only account for 15.7% of engineering and technology roles. |
1:06.0 | My guest today is try to change that. |
1:08.0 | Dawn Bonfield is a material engineer by background. |
... |
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