"Big Girls Pants." Series 2, Episode 2. A conversation with Toni Allen, Chief Engagement and Growth Office at the Instution of Engineering.and Technology

In the second Episode of this series of The Dangerous Women Collective podcast, Sophy speaks to Toni Allen; ultra-experienced marketer, passionate ED&I advocate, STEM champion, and fearless mother of three. She shares her career, insights, and passions expansively and generously, making this a must-not-miss episode.

Dare to tune in and learn more about:

• The continued need for representation in STEM roles worldwide, and what the IET is doing to support this. The stats are not where they should be. In the UK alone 26% of women work in STEM roles, just 15.7% in engineering roles, and only 9% - of men and women - come from different ethnicities.
• The importance of bridge building in building stronger work communities and helping those less represented cross the divide (spoiler, this is a key trait of all the Dangerous Women I have interviewed).
• The power of equity in STEM (and the impressive track record of the IET in supporting this).
• Why target setting is important (in a call back to Episode 1) in driving diversity.
• How we "feel the fear, but do it anyway."
• The importance of allyship, mentoring, and sponsorship (and the difference between them all).
• White women privilege and being visible.
• Why "growing up is optional" and the importance of experience at work.
• The M (menopause) word, is it the last workplace taboo?

About Toni Allen FCIM

Toni Allen is the Chief Engagement and Growth Officer at the Institute of Engineering and Technology (the IET) a role she has held for the past four and a half years.  Before that she was Director of EMEA Marketing for the British Standards Institution.  Her career has spanned agency-side and in-house, though always with a focus on B2B, particularly in STEM. 

The IET inspires, informs and influences the global engineering community to engineer a better world. Its mission is to share knowledge that helps make better sense of the world in order to solve the challenges that matter.  So it sits on the front line of many of the major issues we need solving today, from the climate crisis to sustainability, energy to digital transformation. It is both a membership organisation, with 156,000 members across 148 countries, and a research institution. Some 2000 global events every year ensure that knowledge is widely shared. 

Toni is a believer in allyship, especially in STEM, and this can be seen throughout the programmes and campaigns she manages at the IET. She also talks passionately about ageism in the workplace and the importance of holding on to experience whilst recognising the fresh thinking new people bring with them. 

Links

LinkedIn

Toni Allen | Sophy Norris

The IET

https://www.theiet.org/

Sponsorship

Selbey Anderson