The past sixteen months have underlined the crucial importance of technology in modern life. During these uncertain times, technology has become a key enabler for many companies and communities.
Yet despite decades of progress towards workplace equality, women remain woefully underrepresented in the UK’s technology workforce. Today fewer than 20% of IT roles are filled by women and only 5% of leadership positions.
This is why the Midlands Women in Tech Awards 2021 are so important as a way of celebrating and promoting the female talent we have in our region and providing inspirational role models for the future.
They have received some incredible nominations this year not making it easy for the judges to select the finalists. However, after much deliberation they have arrived at a really strong shortlist of deserving five finalists in each category.
It’s now over to you, the public, to play your part with the process of selecting a winner. The votes will be added to the judges scoring process, to help decide an eventual winner for each category.
Voting is now open, so get nominating your favourite woman in tech. Every vote counts!
We are excited to announce this year’s finalists:
Start-up Award Finalists:
Tobi Adesanya – Marpe Wellbeing
Sallie-Ann Allen – Learn with VR
Jo Seabright – Work From Here
Genea Lynch – Captivate Reality
Gaynor Matthews – myNexus
Apprentice Award Finalists:
Helen Graffham – Jaguar Land Rover
Jessica Morgan – CAP Gemini
Shannan O’Neill-Kendall – Watches of Switzerland
Bethany Smith – Handsam Ltd
Amelia Westbury – Jaguar Land Rover
Rising Star Award Finalists:
Mante Balzaraviciute – DRPG
Grace Barata – Santander
Safina Begum – NTT Data UK
Rekha Karthikeyan – Jaguar Land Rover
Nina Ma – PWC
Academic Award Finalists:
Reham Badawy – Aston University
Lucy Bastin – Aston University
Burcu Can – University of Wolverhamptom
Alicia El Haj – University of Birmingham
Sarah Jones – De Montfort University
Tech For Good Award Finalists:
Oyinkansola Adebayo – Niyo Enterprise
Aaisha Khan – Code Your Future
Pauline Roche – RnR Organisation
Helen Routledge – Totem Learning Ltd
Ewa Truchanowicz – Dignio
Innovator Award Finalists:
Cliona Kelly – Aston University
Claire Owen – DronePrep Ltd
Nosheen Rehman – Jaguar Land Rover
Stacey Ryan – Oxbridge
Sophie Thompson – Virtual Speech
Best Digital Lead Award Finalists:
Sharon Boyd – MKL CX Ltd
Jane Ellis – Jaguar Land Rover
Naomi Nash – Tech Nation
Marlen von Roth – SUSE Software Solutions
Sarah Windrum – Emerald Group Ltd
Shining Star Award Finalists:
Anamika Bhargava – Jaguar Land Rover
Rav Bumbra – Cajigo
Victoria Masso – Behaviour Hackers
Liz Walker – Goldman Sachs
Archana Sharma – Open Text
