About us
We're passionate about making the world more accessible
Why Towards Belonging?
In our modern world, disabled people often feel incredibly excluded because the built or online environment is not inclusive or accessible. A world which is inclusive and accessible will enable disabled people to feel like they are wanted, valued and that they belong.
Towards Belonging was founded by Katy Deacon, an award-winning and wheelchair using engineer, to help the engineering industry understand and better design for disabled people.
We are dedicated to empowering engineers to create accessible environments. We also act as a bridge, enabling the engineering community to hear, listen to and comprehend the voices of disabled people. This will allow engineers to design a more inclusive and accessible world. As a result, this will enable disabled people to feel like they belong. As a company we work tirelessly on this journey Towards Belonging.
About Katy
Katy is a Chartered Electrical Engineer, a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), a wife and a mother to two children.
As an award-winning engineer, including the IEE Mary George Memorial Prize, the IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year award and the WES Karen Burt Award, she enjoyed designing and project managing the installation of renewable energy systems and managing building energy management systems. Her renewable energy tool kit won the NICEIC Energy Efficiency Product of the year.
Katy is a Visiting Professor specialising in Inclusive Engineering at Huddersfield and Aston universities. She is the chair of the Institute of Engineering and Technology EDI board where she is also a Vice President.
About Katy
Katy is a Chartered Electrical Engineer, a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), a wife and a mother to two children.
As an award-winning engineer, including the IEE Mary George Memorial Prize, the IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year award and the WES Karen Burt Award, she enjoyed designing and project managing the installation of renewable energy systems and managing building energy management systems. Her renewable energy tool kit won the NICEIC Energy Efficiency Product of the year.
She then changed her technical focus to advance her management skills and develop her expertise in information governance and cyber security, operating as Data Protection Officer for Kirklees Council and managing the Information Governance team for 10 years.
After 12 years in a wheelchair due to primary progressive multiple sclerosis, Katy now runs her own business, Towards Belonging Ltd, helping to bridge the gap between the disabled community and the engineering community, with a view to improving Inclusive Engineering design and Accessibility within engineering industry.
She is a visiting professor at Aston University specialising in Inclusive Engineering and she chairs the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Board at the IET.
Our Amazing Awards
Who We've Worked With
