North East engineer named gender role model

A North East social entrepreneur has been recognised for promoting equality and inclusion.

Alex Knight, from Northumberland, has won the Positive Role Model: Gender Award at the 2025 National Diversity Awards, held at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, which spotlighted individuals and organisations making a tangible impact in advancing equality across the UK.

The annual awards, hosted by broadcaster, author, presenter and journalist Clare Balding CBE, celebrate individuals and organisations advancing diversity, equity and inclusion, with 126 finalists being selected from more than 85,000 nominees across 15 categories this year.

Clare said: “I was thrilled and deeply honoured to return as host for the National Diversity Awards.

“Recognising the individuals, organisations and charities that go above and beyond to improve their communities is truly vital. 

“These inspiring and uplifting awards shine a spotlight on the incredible strength and positivity of an inclusive society, celebrating community heroes whose dedication and achievements might otherwise go unrecognised.”

Alex, a chartered engineer and award-winning entrepreneur, is the founder of STEMAZING, a social enterprise dedicated to empowering women in STEM. 

Having left a role as a technical director in 2021 to focus on STEMAZING full-time, Alex has helped train over 600 women and delivered more than 160,000 STEMAZINGKids engagements in primary schools, targeting children in areas with high levels of deprivation.

Through workshops, mentoring, media appearances and her TEDx talk Why Visibility, Courage and Sex Matter in Engineering – which has attracted over 350,000 views – Alex champions visibility and inclusion in engineering. 

She said: “Winning this award is fantastic recognition of the hard work and dedication everyone in our STEMAZING community contributes to tackling the diversity crisis in STEM. 

“If you can see it, you can be it. 

“We need more visible, diverse STEM role models to engage and inspire all young people, break down barriers, accelerate the pace of change, bring about more equitable cultures in STEM industries to ensure innovationcan thrive. 

“I hope winning this award will help spread the word about what we do in STEMAZING so more women, non-binary people and allies join our revolution, more schools and teachers access our free workshops, and policy makers in Government recognise the need for curriculum reform to ensure diverse role models in all subjects are included to inspire young people to be the change we need to see.”

Paul Sesay, chief executive of Inclusive Companies and founder of the National Diversity Awards, added: “The National Diversity Awards spotlight people doing great and important work within their communities, day in and day out.

“This is our chance to give long-overdue recognition to courageous and generous people whose voices andactions are too often ignored. 

“At a time when some people are dialling down on DEI, the National Diversity Awards remind us that diversity isn’t about ticking boxes, it’s about people and the positive impact of their actions.”

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →