Women with Metal 2026 Conference
Description
Join women and allies in the Metals, Manufacturing and Engineering Sectors for the fourth Women with Metal Conference.
Join us at The East Side Rooms, Birmingham UK, for a day filled with inspiring talks, workshops, and networking opportunities. This event is all about celebrating and empowering women and allies in the metal, manufacturing and engineering sectors. Hosted by our CEO and Founder Kirsty Davies-Chinnock we are delighted to be bring our fourth conference to you.
Get ready to hear from industry leaders, learn from our professional speakers and connect with like-minded individuals who share your passion for the exciting sector we work in. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out we aim to increase your Confidence, Knowledge and Connections.
Come be a part of this exciting event and help us build a stronger, more inclusive community of women in metal. We can't wait to see you there!
Lineup
Kirsty Davies-Chinnock
Founder and CEO of Women with Metal
Poggy Murray Whitaham
Poggy Murray Whitham is a multi-award-winning Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion expert, researcher, and keynote speaker who helps organisations turn inclusion into a strategic advantage. A professionally accredited engineer by training and Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, Poggy is recognised as one of the UK’s Top 100 Manufacturing Professionals and as a National Diversity Awards finalist from over 85,000 nominations. 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. Poggy has spoken at some of the UK’s most respected institutions, including the Royal Academy of Engineering, Imperial College London, and the Institute of Government and Public Policy, and has delivered keynotes at industry-leading events such as the Automation UK Show, Advanced Engineering, Rail Live, Commercial Vehicles Show, STEM, LGBTQ+ & You Conference, and for the Women’s Engineering Society. In 2025, they delivered their TEDx talk ‘Engineering Equity with Automation’, and released their debut book, Inclusion Moments, which became an Amazon bestseller in 3 categories, cementing their reputation as a sought-after voice on the future of inclusive engineering. Currently pursuing a Doctorate in DEI in Engineering, Poggy continues to work with companies nationwide to embed inclusion into the heart of their success. Engineering Equity at the Intersection What happens when we stop looking at people through a single lens? Drawing on intersectionality, workplace data, lived experience, and engineering systems thinking, this keynote explores how overlapping identities can shape people’s experiences of work, why better data helps us design more inclusive systems, and how inclusion is ultimately experienced in everyday moments. From organisational processes to individual acts of allyship, the talk makes the case that meaningful inclusion requires both better systems and better everyday choices
Rachel Sewell
Rachel Sewell is a Menopause Specialist and Nervous System Regulation Coach. She supports women to regulate stress, restore energy, and build resilience at work and in life.
Steph Snade
Steph is a Business Psychologist and leadership expert dedicated to supporting businesses to achieve greater success through strategic people and organisational development. She has twenty years of insight and experience into people's behaviours, motivations, and drivers, with over a decade as a Business Psychologist, specialising in leadership and organisational development. Her mission lies in creating excellence in leaders and organisations. High-functioning, supportive, and inclusive leadership within psychologically safe, engaging environments helps people and businesses thrive, allowing transformative change to happen. Steph has worked with over 1500 leaders and partners with businesses to enhance leadership effectiveness, drive organisational change, and create high-performing cultures.. Back again in 2026 to team up with Jeremy Stockdale. Steph and Jeremy will be exploring Conscious Leadership and how this can benefit us.
Jeremy Stockdale
Jeremy is the CEO of Ylead, a leadership consultancy he founded in 2020 to create a more data-driven and human-led approach to developing leaders with purpose. He draws upon two decades in the banking industry leading large, diverse and multi-functional teams across the UK and Africa. His passion for Leadership, Gender Equity and Gender Advocacy, combined with his extensive experience, exposure and business acumen help organisations and individuals to lead their people with purpose, curiosity, compassion, courage and a desire for continuous learning and development. Back again in 2026 to team up with Steph Snade. Jeremy and Steph will be exploring Conscious Leadership and how this can benefit us.
Michelle Rawlins
Michelle is an international award winning journalist, author, university teacher, copywriter, blogger and ghostwriter – in no particular order. She has worked for national newspapers, women’s magazines and digital platforms for 30 years, as well as writing nine books. Her non-fiction book, Women Of Steel, was released in June 2020, telling the stories of the real life women who worked in the Sheffield steel factories in World War Two. Michelle will be taking us through the lives of the Women she interviewed in her book, giving us insight into some of the original Women with Metal.
Jane Bytheway
Jane Bytheway is a Leadership Coach and Workplace Grief Specialist who works with leaders and organisations to help them navigate the human impact of loss at work. With over 20 years’ experience supporting leaders and teams through change and challenge, she brings together lived experience of bereavement with professional training in grief support. Jane helps individuals process difficult emotions and find a way forward during times of profound change. Her organisational programmes help develop grief-literate leaders who have the awareness, confidence and practical skills to support colleagues experiencing loss. Jane will be exploring the question many people struggle with: What do you say after “I’m sorry for your loss?” - offering practical insights for responding to grief in the workplace, whatever your role.
Victoria Jones
Victoria Jones is a financial planning expert at Quilter Cheviot, with a passion for helping people build greater confidence and understanding around money. She brings a thoughtful and relatable approach to financial wellbeing, exploring the experiences, behaviours and influences that shape the way we make financial decisions. Victoria is particularly interested in the relationship between our personal experiences and our attitudes towards saving, spending, investing and financial uncertainty. She explores how the economic and social events we experience throughout our lives can influence the way different generations think about and manage money. Back again in 2026 following her hugely engaging session at the Women With Metal Conference in 2024, Victoria will be exploring **our relationship with money and the generational influences that shape our financial choices**, sharing practical insights to help us make more informed and intentional decisions about our finances.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
