The former Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Sir Vince Cable, will come together with engineering industry leaders to discuss equality and diversity challenges being faced among the sector on Tuesday.

Other national politicians including Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting MP, SNP international development and foreign affairs spokesperson Hannah Bardell MP and Labour Shadow Minister for Small Businesses and Consumers Seema Malhotra MP will also be in attendance at the London conference.

The likes of McLaren Racing and Heathrow will also be present at the prestigious annual Equality in Engineering conference, which is set to be held on January 31, to discuss creating inclusive cultures for the workforce of tomorrow.

Organised by EqualEngineers, the Equality in Engineering conference will welcome more than 20 speakers from industry, academia and politics to deliver talks across 14 sessions to more than 450 attendees.

People will attend a plenary session to hear from ED&I leaders about how they are making a difference to the inclusive culture of engineering while also taking part in workshops focussing on the changes that need to be made to improve race and ethnicity inclusivity, as well as the steps being taken to better understand the mental health challenges of engineers.

The engaging event will host talks on the importance of visible role models in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), why engagement needs to start with people as young as possible and what we can all do to make a difference. There will be a presentation on what is being done to empower women working in STEM to be more confident and inspire primary school children.

The Smallpiece Trust will also showcase a feature at the event on McLaren Extreme E’s visit, with their first female racing driver, to a school where students believed they’d never receive a visit from a global corporation while another session will unpack the world of emotional intelligence and look at the way in which people view you and your personal brand.

Founder of EqualEngineers and the Equality in Engineering conference Dr Mark McBride-Wright, who is a gay safety engineer by trade, said: “This is a chance for people to network with professionals, leaders and influencers enthusiastic about creating inclusive cultures for all people. Attendees will learn about ways to better engage their colleagues and organisations on better inclusion while it will be a chance for you to be re-energised on transforming the norm by empowering and supporting one another.

“I’m really proud to have brought this conference together and to have the likes of Sir Vince Cable and Wes Streeting MP involved is just testament to the work we are doing and the positive change we are trying to make.”