The finalists for the ninth annual FDM everywoman in Technology Awards, in association with The Tech She Can Charter, have been announced. Taking place to celebrate International Women’s Day, the awards are a timely reminder that only 15% of people working in STEM roles in the UK are female and just 5% of leadership positions in the tech industry are held by women.*
The 2019 awards programme’s rally cry is “Achieve, Elevate and Inspire” and this year’s finalists, whilst diverse in many ways, all have something in common – they do just that. With so many talented women and men committed to being role models for positive change, this year, the awards shine the spotlight on 50 of the most talented individuals from the tech industry, from the UK and internationally.
Focusing on the entire length and breadth of the tech talent pipeline, finalists range from the “ones to watch” who are under the age of 16 and already inspiring other children to study STEM subjects, to young apprentices, women in academia, tech entrepreneurs and male agents of change.
On behalf of the judging panel, Maxine Benson MBE, Co-Founder of everywoman, comments: “The judges were united in their admiration and respect for the achievement of this year’s finalists. Without question, each of them has the ability to inspire more women and girls into a career in technology. Research by PWC shows that there could be a £180billion boost to UK GDP just by increasing female employment rates**. This shows just how valuable female talent is and why this awards programme is so important in ensuring that more women enter the industry.
Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on 6 March. For further information and to book your place, please contact [email protected].
The 2019 FDM everywoman in Technology Awards finalists are as follows:
For a full list of names, please visit www.everywoman.com/techawards.
- One to Watch Award – sponsored by Computacenter – awarded to a girl aged 11-16 who is actively encouraging girls to study STEM subjects. Finalists include school students attending Clacton County High School in Essex, Mt St Michael Secondary School in Ireland, Bishop Gilpin in Wimbledon and Harris Academy in Bermondsey
- Apprentice Award – Finalists include young talent from Northumbrian Water, Deloitte and CGI
- Rising Star Award – sponsored by T-Systems. Awarded to a woman aged under 26. This year’s finalists are employees of PwC, Whitbread and the Founder of Code Camp
- Digital Star Award – sponsored by CGI. This year’s finalists are employees of Sainsbury’s Argos, BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, formerly Lloyds Banking Group, Accenture, Float Digital and the Department for Digital Culture, Media & Sport
- Software Engineer Award – sponsored by NatWest. Finalists include the Founder of Trik and Software Engineers from American Express, PwC and Lloyds Banking Group
- Academic Award – sponsored by Lloyds Banking. Awarded to a woman in academia who has made an outstanding contribution to technology and science. Finalists include two Readers from the University of Bath and the Head of Design and Technology at Ashlawn School
- Team Leader Award – sponsored by American Express. This year’s finalists are from CGI, Barclays, Leeds Beckett University, Experian, Tata Consultancy Services and Deloitte
- Entrepreneur Award – sponsored by IBM iX. The finalists are the Founders of Pivigo, Techsixtyfour, Recordsure and Blukudu
- Innovator Award – sponsored by Equiniti. Finalists include women from Experian, American Express, and the Founders of Earthmiles and Akoni
- Leader Award – sponsored by BP – Finalists this year are from Vodafone Group Services UK, Oliver Wyman, Oracle, Accenture, Experian and IBM
- International Inspiration Award – awarded to an individual based outside the UK, male or female. Finalists include the Head of Research and Development at AbleGamers in West Virginia, the Founder of KizCode in Turkey and the Biofuels CIO and Ethics and Compliance Leader at BP in São Paulo
- Male Agent of Change Award – sponsored by VMWare. Awarded to a male agent of change for his commitment to championing women working in tech. Finalists are from Imperial College London, PwC, BP and Accenture
Sheila Flavell, Chief Operating Officer of FDM Group comments: “The FDM everywoman in Technology Awards are an extension of our commitment to championing diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Promoting and celebrating the incredible achievements of women in technology is important in order to inspire other women to join and thrive in the industry. At FDM, we have embedded diversity and inclusion into our culture and as a result, circa 50% of our senior management team is female and we have reported a 0% median gender pay gap for two consecutive years. Diversity is part of our DNA and contributes to FDM’s success as a modern business.”
Sheridan Ash, Technology Innovation, and Women in Technology Leader at PwC adds: “The Tech She Can Charter is delighted to support the FDM everywoman in Technology Awards. Tech She Can is a commitment across industry to improve gender diversity in technology careers with a focus on the pipeline at school level. It’s essential that we inspire the younger generation by highlighting more female role models doing incredible work in technology that benefits our world and the society we live in, so we recognise the importance of these awards in doing just that. Many congratulations to all of the finalists.”
Sources
*Women in Tech – Time to close the gender gap – PwC (2018)
**PWC Women in Work Index – PWC (2018)
