The finalists have been announced for the inaugural Women in IT Awards, which will celebrate the achievements of female executives in the male-dominated technology industry.

Information Age, the business-technology magazine organising the event in partnership with Salesforce.com, received over 100 nominations for the Awards, which will take place at Grosvenor House Ballroom, Park Lane, on 29 January 2015.

Having gathered resounding support from trade associations, politicians and companies of all sizes and sectors, the event has emerged as the largest and most prominent women-in-technology initiative in the UK.

The ceremony, which will be attended by hundreds of the UK’s most influential IT leaders, will be the culmination of a six-month Information Age campaign to help rectify the lack of women in IT.

According to a recent study from employer body The Tech Partnership, which is supporting the event, just 16% of the IT industry is made up of women and the gender gap is worsening.

One report found that tech companies with women on management teams have a 34% higher return on investment, while another predicted that increasing the number of women working in IT could generate an extra £2.6 billion a year for the UK economy.

Through a series of 12 awards – spanning end-user, vendor and special recognition categories – the Awards will highlight the tremendous value that women can bring to IT roles, and the satisfaction that such a career can give them.

The UK’s biggest professional bodies for the IT industry are also supporting the event – including BCS – The Chartered Institute for IT and trade association techUK – while The Guardian has assumed the position of official media partner.

Nicky Morgan, the Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, who is supporting the Your Life campaign to encourage more young people, and especially girls, to pursue careers in booming areas like technology, lent her congratulations to the finalists.

“Well done to all of the women who have been nominated for the Women in IT Awards,” she said. “You are all fantastic role models and ambassadors for young people looking to study STEM subjects.

“I am sure you will inspire other women to follow in your foot steps and pursue a career in technology.”

The Women in IT Awards 2015 finalists

Advocate of the Year

• Network Rail
• FDM Group
• NextGen Events
• Standby Task Force
• Apps for Good
• Tara Sattar, Legal Compliance

e-Skills Initiative of the Year – sponsored by e-Skills for Jobs 2014 and techUK

• Network Rail
• Fluency
• Nominet
• Amastra/Connecting Women in Technology (CWT)
• Royal Bank of Scotland
• Atos

Innovator of the Year – sponsored by Informed Solutions

• Verne Global
• BlackLine
• Big Data Partnership
• Aspera
• MOVE Guides
• EG Solutions
• Unruly
• Twizoo

Business Leader of the Year – sponsored by Zayo

• Anwen Robinson, UNIT4
• Melissa DiDonato, Salesforce.com
• Sarah Hood, Tquila
• Yolanta Gill, European Electronique
• Helen Lamb, Fujitsu
• Lynn Collier, Hitachi Data Systems
• Lisa Neale, BT Group
• Lisa Hammond, Centrix Software
• Philippa Bradshaw, DWCC
• Meri Braziel, Keycom
• Arlene Adams, Peppermint Technology
• Clare McCaffery, VisualDNA

Public Sector Deployment of the Year

• Home Office
• London Borough of Camden
• Stockport NHS Foundation Trust
• University of Huddersfield
• Exeter College

Private Sector Deployment of the Year

• Tesco
• GE Capital
• Royal Mail
• Waitrose
• BMI Healthcare
• Direct Line Group

Security Champion of the Year

• Niamh Muldoon, Workday
• Julie George, Post Office
• Cath Goulding, Nominet
• Anna Goss, Kaspersky Labs
• Jennifer Steffens, IOActive

Future CIO of the Year – sponsored by Software AG

• Jayalaxmi Reddi, Plan-Net
• Billie Laidlaw, RSPCA
• Mali Marafini, Interruptiv.com
• Ruth Leak, Royal Mail
• Nina Telli, Tesco
• Jenny Larsson, GE Capital
• Colette Mullan, BT

IT Transformation of the Year

• Tesco
• Spire Healthcare
• Royal Mail
• Halfords Group
• Lloyds Banking Group

CIO of the Year – sponsored by EMC

• Frances Crummay, LGC Group
• Roben Dunkin, Credit Suisse
• Anna Barsby, Halfords Group
• Catherine Doran, Royal Mail
• Tracey McDermott, BMI Healthcare
• Janet Day, BLP

Editor’s Choice

• FDM Group
• Tesco Labs
• Accenture
• Royal Bank of Scotland
• Nominet
• Network Rail

Salesforce Woman of the Year – sponsored by Salesforce.com

• Mary Youngs, Cloud Sherpas
• Emer Timmons, BT Global Services
• Vin Murria, Advanced Computer Software
• Astrid Byro, DSM
• Zoe Cunningham, Softwire Technology
• Kathleen Schneider, Criteo
• Clodagh Murphy, Eclipse
• Romana Abdin, SimplyHealth