Engineering Equity: The Power of Inclusion Moments

Facilitated by: Poggy Murray Whitham

Engineering, construction, and manufacturing are facing a mental health emergency. EqualEngineers’ longitudinal Masculinity in Engineering research has shown that people working in these sectors are more than three times more likely to die by suicide than the national average, and that psychological safety and mental wellbeing have declined since the study began in 2019. These findings highlight cultures where silence, stoicism, and fear of judgement remain deeply embedded.

In this webinar, professionally accredited engineer and multi-award-winning DEI expert and researcher Poggy Murray Whitham explores what these insights mean for workplace culture, not only in engineering but in any male-dominated environment shaped by traditional norms and expectations.

Drawing on professional and lived experience, multiple research studies they have led, and stories from their bestselling book Inclusion Moments, Poggy shows how systems thinking and human storytelling combine to reveal the everyday interactions that shape belonging, behaviour, and organisational safety. Inclusion does not need grand gestures. It starts in the smallest moments, often the ones we overlook, but which define how people show up, speak up, and stay.

This webinar will:

• Highlight the current mental health emergency in the engineering, construction, and manufacturing sectors.
• Share key findings and recommendations from EqualEngineers’ Masculinity in Engineering research and Poggy’s own research.
• Demonstrate how storytelling drives behavioural change by helping people feel, not just intellectually understand, the realities of exclusion and allyship.
• Show how Inclusion Moments can be used to reflect, intervene early, and inspire meaningful and sustained cultural change.

About the facilitator

Poggy Murray Whitham
Operations Manager, EqualEngineers and Co-Chair, InterEngineering

Poggy Murray Whitham is a multi-award-winning DEI expert, researcher, and keynote speaker who helps organisations turn inclusion into a strategic advantage through their position as Operations Manager at EqualEngineers.

A professionally accredited engineer by training and Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, Poggy was recognised as one of the UK’s Top 100 Manufacturing Professionals and as a National Diversity Awards finalist from over 85,000 nominations in 2025, bringing both professional and authentic lived experience to every stage they step onto.

A former senior manager in automation engineering, Poggy now works at the intersection of technology and inclusion, showing how embracing diversity drives innovation, productivity, and culture change. They combine deep strategic insight with the lived experience of being Black, Queer, Disabled, and Autistic, delivering talks that are as thought-provoking as they are practical.

Poggy recently delivered their TEDx talk ‘Engineering Equity with Automation’, and released their debut book, ‘Inclusion Moments’, which instantly became an Amazon Best Seller in multiple categories, cementing their reputation as a sought-after voice on the future of inclusive engineering. Currently pursuing a Doctorate in DEI in Engineering alongside their work, Poggy continues to work with companies nationwide to embed inclusion into the heart of their success.