The finalists for the 2016 edition of the Women in IT Awards, technology’s leading celebration of female leaders, have been revealed.
Information Age, the business-technology magazine that organises the event, received more than 200 nominations for the Awards, which will take place at Grosvenor House Ballroom, Park Lane, on 28 January 2016.
Having gathered resounding support from trade associations, politicians and companies of all sizes and sectors, the event has emerged as the largest and most influential initiative tackling technology’s gender imbalance.
According to a study from employer body The Tech Partnership, which supports the event along with BCS and techUK, just 16% of the IT industry is made up of women and the gap is worsening.
>See also: Women in IT Awards winners revealed at glitzy ceremony
Through a series of 13 awards, the Awards highlight the tremendous value that women can bring to IT roles and identify new role models for girls, who make up just 18% of students on UK computing degrees.
The event is also supported by Salesforce, Atos, CWJobs, EMC, eSkills for Jobs 2015, Fujitsu, Informed Solutions, O2, SoftwareAG, Zayo, and Hotwire PR.
The ceremony, which will again be attended by 500 of the UK’s most influential IT leaders, is the flagship event for an ongoing Information Age campaign to help rectify the lack of women in IT.
“Congratulations to all the women shortlisted for this year’s Women in IT Awards,” said Baroness Shields, Minister for Internet Safety and Security, who will provide a welcome address at the event. “This is a platform not only for celebrating the achievements of female IT leaders, but also for identifying new role models for young women.
“It is vital that we expand the circle of women innovators, creators and drivers looking to join our industry. Simply being involved in this initiative contributes to tackling technology’s disheartening gender imbalance.”
While today’s leaders prepare for the evening showcase of the Awards, the daytime will see hundreds of the UK’s brightest female students gather at technology’s largest careers fair for women, Tomorrow’s Tech Leaders Today, a sister event of the Women in IT Awards.
Also organised by Information Age, in partnership with Royal Bank of Scotland, this is an unprecedented and exclusive opportunity for women to connect with the country’s top IT employers.
“We continue to be extremely committed to helping tackle the shocking gender gap in technology,” said Ben Rossi, editorial director at Vitesse Media, publisher of Information Age. “Those of us who work in the industry know how vibrant and exciting it is, and we all have a responsibility to ensure it is a diverse environment for everyone.
“We are delighted with how the Women in IT Awards has grown in its influence as a platform for identifying much-needed female role models, and are very excited by the pace at which Tomorrow’s Tech Leaders Today has become an important place for the UK’s top employers to meet with the country’s brightest female talent.”
The Women in IT Awards 2016 is sponsored by Salesforce, Atos, CWJobs, EMC, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Informed Solutions, O2, TechUK, eSkills for Jobs, Software AG, World First, Zayo, and Ada, the National College of Digital Skills.
The Women in IT Awards 2016 finalists
Advocate of the year – sponsored by O2
Kate Doodson, Cosmic
Justine Mackinnon, Standby Taskforce
Shell Women in IT Network, Shell
FDM Group
Josephine Goube, Girls in Tech
e-Skills Initiative of the Year – sponsored by e-Skills for Jobs 2015 and techUK
Apps for Good
John Lewis
CA Technologies
Accenture
Telefonica UK (O2)
CIO of the Year – sponsored by EMC
Christina Scott, Financial Times
Sarah Flannigan, National Trust
Julie Cullivan, FireEye
Andrea Powell, CABI
Joanna Smith, Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust
Lyn Grobler, BP
Future CIO of the Year – sponsored by Software AG
Marian Anyameluhor, Thales
Dr Rachel O’Connell, Trust Elevate
Karen Beckmann, Amey
Georgina Owens, Vodafone
Sam Lloyd, Virgin Media
Security Champion of the Year – sponsored by World First
Sabine Lainer, Worldpay
Genevieve Leveille, IdenTrust
Dary Pena, Accenture
Becky Pinkard, Digital Shadows
Gaynor Rich, Unilever
Sarah Lawson, Amey
IT Transformation of the Year – sponsored by Ericsson
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Coutts
CABI
Royal Mail
Telefonica UK (O2)
National Express
Deployment of the Year – sponsored by CWJobs
Deloitte / Virgin Media
Royal Mail
Greater Manchester Police
Gloucester City Homes
Cork City Council
Business Role Model of the Year – sponsored by Fujitsu
Sara Monsef, Deloitte
Joanna Wake, RAW Digital Training
Martina Mercer, The Consumer Voice
Melissa Di Donato, Salesforce
Sheila Flavell, FDM Group
Business Leader of the Year – sponsored by Zayo
Alina Topchy, Kaspersky Lab
Elsa Chen, Entanet International
Cathie Hall, K3 Syspro
Alessandra Sherman, United Konsultants
Amy Wettenhall, Ericsson
Emma de Sousa, Insight
Innovator of the Year – sponsored by Informed Solutions
Clear Returns
Outbrain
Massive Analytic
Big White Wall
BlackLine
Editor’s Choice – sponsored by Ada, the National College of Digital Skills
Earwig Academy
Love&Robots
PCA Predict
Reckitt Benckiser
Soronko Solutions
International Star of the Year
Monica Eaton-Cardone, Global Risk
Kamakshi Sivaramaskrishnan, Drawbridge
Noha Amin, Kuwait Finance House-Bahrain
Leyla Seka, Desk.com
Terri Roeslmeier, Automated Business Designs
Maria Pergolino, Apttus
Woman of the Year – sponsored by Salesforce
Caroline Graham, Barclays
Jacqueline de Rojas, Citrix
Lynn Collier, HDS
Ursula Morgenstern, Atos
Zahra Bahrololoumi, Accenture
Regina Moran, Fujitsu UK&I
