Joanna Whiteman
Head Of Diversity and Inclusion,
Royal Academy of Engineering
About
Joanna is the Head of Diversity and Inclusion at the Royal Academy of Engineering and leads on the Academy’s work to accelerate diversity and inclusion throughout engineering. She and her team work with engineering companies, academic institutions and professional bodies in particular, providing evidence-based programming and rigorous research to support them on their inclusion journeys and enable their good practices to reach the wider sector.
Joanna began her career as an employment lawyer, advising companies across the UK as they sought to comply with the Equality Act 2010. She then moved into the charitable sector and, as Head of Litigation and then Co-director at the Equal Rights Trust, she supported global partners to use the law to advance equality.
Joanna has advised, trained and guided hundreds of organisations as they embed inclusive practices in their own work and continue their work advocating on behalf of underrepresented communities. Joanna has also worked closely with organisations on developing equality policies and advocating for relevant legal reform at the national and international level.