Celebrating the achievements of Women in Technology

The finalists of the 14th annual FDM everywoman in Technology Awards have been unveiled. The awards celebrate the tech industry’s most exceptional talent recognising all stages of the career journey from apprentices to C-Suite, creating role models to inspire the next generation from the UK and beyond. 

Since the awards were founded in 2010 the technology industry has made great steps in terms of gender diversity; an increase in women and those in senior leadership roles, more visibility of successful female role models, and the rapid growth of initiatives to encourage more young girls into STEM subjects.

However, the $1 trillion and rapidly growing industry is facing a recruitment crisis and needs to address its diversity and inclusion as a social and economic imperative to drive and allow for future growth.^[1]

Currently only 24% of people working in STEM in the UK are women. While this is expected to increase marginally to 29% by 2030, women still only account for 10% of leadership roles in the industry.^[2] And for those women forging careers in tech, they face a 2.8% gender pay gap.^[3] It is estimated that to achieve gender parity in the UK technology sector one million women need to be hired and that this shift would benefit the economy by £2.6bn.^[4]

The FDM everywoman in Technology Award winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on 9th March 2023 where over 600 cross-industry tech leaders will come to network and celebrate these exceptional finalists.

Maxine Benson MBE, Co-Founder of everywoman comments: “Addressing this gender gap is why these awards were originally established in 2010. The ongoing requirement to both attract and advance more women in this industry has never been more urgent. The past 14 years has produced so many stories that demonstrate the impact of this programme in achieving that goal. These awards showcase the diverse, fulfilling, and exemplary careers that women can have in technology and how they really can make a difference to people’s lives.”

Sheila Flavell CBE, Chief Operating Officer of FDM Group comments: “Improving diversity and encouraging women to enter the technology industry should be a top priority, for every business. In challenging economic times, it’s more important than ever to recognise and celebrate the achievements of women in our industry. From rising stars to serial entrepreneurs, these awards shine a spotlight on the amazing role models, innovators and disruptors who are taking our industry forward.”

The 2023 award finalists are:

APPRENTICE AWARD – sponsored by SSE

• Joanna Crane, Undergraduate Engineer at The Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology, from Bristol
• Ziana Butt BEM, Business & Technology Delivery New Associate at Accenture, from London
• Amy Porter, Technology Degree Apprentice at PwC, from Leeds
• Asha Bachetta, Technology Apprentice, Cybersecurity & Technology Controls at JP Morgan Chase & Co, from Bournemouth
• Amy Groves, Software Engineer at Lloyds Banking Group, from Halifax
• Bec Sun, Software Engineer at American Express, from London 
• CTO/CIO OF THE YEAR AWARD – sponsored by Accenture
• Paula Carey, CTO at Carbon8 Systems Ltd, from Medway 
• Nicki Clegg, Former CTO & Interim Head of Engineering & DevOps at Irwin Mitchell, from Manchester
• Josie Dressendofer, President / CIO at Slice Wireless Solutions, from New York
• Nadine Thomson, CTO at GroupM – MediaCom, from London

CYBER SECURITY AWARD – sponsored by BAE Systems

• Kerry Craven, Sales Capture at Accenture, from London
• Katy Hinchcliffe, Head of Security Operations from M&G plc, from Nottingham
• Stephanie McKeown, Senior Security Policy Specialist at Lloyds Banking Group, from Belfast
• Saba Mohammed, Vice President – Global Cybersecurity Education Program Manager at JP Morgan Chase, from London
• Elaine Shepherd, Cloud Compliance Lead at Willis Towers Watson, from London
• Eleanor Sim, Director Cyber Security Strategy and Architecture at Bupa, from Edinburgh

DIGITAL STAR AWARD – sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group

• Heather Campbell, Principal Architect at Kainos, from Belfast
• Cherry Ko, Digital Experience Lead at NatWest Group, from London
• Shelina McAlees, Cloud Engagement Consultant at Willis Towers Watson, from Glasgow
• Vibhusha Raval, Scrum Master at Haleon, from London
• Karolina Szafranek, Software Engineer at American Express, from London
• Alina Timofeeva, Associate Partner at Oliver Wyman, from London

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION LEADER AWARD – sponsored by Bupa

• Irene Acedo-Rico Gonzalez, EMEA Lenovo Channel Sales Executive Director at Lenovo, from Madrid
• Nikki Briant, Management Consultant at Oaklin, from London
• Caroline McDowall, Head of Delivery at M&G plc, from Edinburgh
• Joanna Peller, Health Lead at Palantir, from London
• Rachel Rubenstein, Director at PwC, from London
• Li Qun Taylor, Head of Digital Channels Technology, Retail Digitech at NatWest Bank, from London

ENTREPRENEUR AWARD – sponsored by Howden Group Holdings

• Liz Ashall-Payne, Founding CEO at ORCHA, from Cheshire
• Alison Ettridge, CEO & Chief Believer at Stratigens (from Talent Intuition Ltd), from Wales
• Janthana Kaenprakhamroy, CEO at Taploy Ltd, from London
• Vinita Rathi, CEO at Systango, from London
• Fiona Roach Canning, CEO at Pollinate, from London

INNOVATOR AWARD – sponsored by American Express

• Francesca Rosella, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Cute Circuit, from London
• Issy Yeung, Software Engineer at Lloyds Banking Group, from Edinburgh
• Jasmine Dhiman, Managing Director at Accenture, from London
• Shabnam Wazed, Founder and CEO at AGAM International, from London
• Rajvant Nijjhar, CEO at BankEnergi, from Reading

LEADER AWARD – sponsored by Twilio

• Kaj Bansal, Manager, Agile Delivery Lead at Capital One, from Nottingham
• Lindsey Bateman, Chief Information Security Officer at M&G plc, from Stirling
• Pamela Maynard, CEO at Avanade, from London
• Nikki McCall, Director, Finance Automation & Change at Centrica plc, from Windsor
• Michelle McDaid, Senior Director of Engineering at Workhuman, from Dublin
• Mridula Ranjan, Head of International & Complex Payments Technology at NatWest Group, from London
• Jane Ashworth, Global Retail Programs Director at Lenovo, from Guildford

MALE AGENT OF CHANGE AWARD – sponsored by Centrica PLC

• Russell Sloan, Digital Services Director at Kainos, from Belfast
• Declan O’Gorman, Head of Engineering at NatWest Group, from London
• Rob McCargow, Technology Impact Leader at PwC, from London
• Paul Forster, Community Manager at SETsquared Bristol, from Bristol
• Mick Burn, Partner – EMEA Head Infosys Consulting Talent & Organisation Practice at Infosys Consulting, from London
• Ewan McPherson, Senior Director at Discover Financial Services, from Farnborough
• Tom Ilube CBE, CEO at Crossword Cybersecurity Plc, from London

ONE TO WATCH AWARD – sponsored by Computacenter

• Alexandra Gentry, Student at Bedford Girls School, from Bedford
• Olivia Gibson, Student at Manchester High School for Girls, from Manchester
• Catherine James, Student at Lady Eleanor Holles School, from London
• Alice Smith, Student at Samuel Ryder Academy, from St Albans
• Anna Wake, Co-founder at Mission Encodeable, from London

RISING STAR AWARD – sponsored by SUSE

• Shannon Burgess, Project Manager at Shared Services Connected Ltd, from London
• Bethany Clarke, former Advanced Consultant Engineer at Capgemini Engineering, from Bristol
• Emily Cross, Customer Success Associate at JP Morgan Chase, from London
• Chloe Donaldson, Information Service Engineer at ModUK – British Army, from York
• Joanna Kelly, Senior Software Engineer at Leonardo, from Edinburgh
• Harshitha Shivakumar, Senior Technical Consultant at IBM, from London

SOFTWARE ENGINEER AWARD – sponsored by Discover

• Duygu Cakmak, R&D Director at Creative Assembly, from Horsham
• Janine Luk, Developer Evangelist at R3, from London
• Andreea Monu, Lead Engineer at NatWest Group, from London
• Zeinab Sarmadi, Senior Software Engineer at American Express, from London
• Monisha Waghmare, Senior Principal Engineer at REPL Group, from Birmingham
• Sandra Koetter, Senior Test Engineer at Booking.com, from Manchester
• Sim Suri-Maun, Head of Digital Technology at Bupa, from London

TEAM LEADER AWARD – sponsored by Fujitsu

• Noreen Buckley, Director of Product Delivery & Integration, Global Consumer Services Technology at American Express, from Brighton
• Natalie Donohue, Senior Producer at Sports Interactive, from London
• Charlie Dacke, Head of Geospatial Technology & Standards at Office for National Statistics, from Portsmouth
• Bamidele Farinre, Pathology Quality Lead at HALO, from London
• Becky Ferraro, Inclusive Design Lead at Deloitte Digital, from London
• Priyanka Naik, Principal Product Owner at Discover Financial Services, from London

TECH FOR GOOD AWARD – sponsored by RS Group

• Konstatina Bethani, Founder & CEO at Tenebra Studios, from Athens
• Christiane Demgenski, Chief Product Officer at Awina, from Zurich
• Bonnie Molins, Inclusive Design Principal at Kainos, from London
• Helen Roland, Global Forensic Accountant at Accenture, from Dublin
• Emma Smith, Director of Talent & Social Impact at Creative Assembly, from West Sussex
• Jane Govindsamy, Executive Assistant & Corporate Social Investment Champion at Lenovo SA, from Johannesburg

ACADEMIC AWARD

• Pippa Bostock, Director of Development, Engagement and Marketing at The Mary Rose Trust and PhD candidate at CCIXR, University of Portsmouth, from Portsmouth
• Jackie Carter, Professor in Statistical Literacy at University of Manchester, from Manchester
• Beverley Gibbs, Chief Academic Officer at New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE), from Hereford
• Cathryn Mitchell, Professor & Royal Society Research Fellow at University of Bath, from Bath
• Nicole Melzack, PhD Candidate at University of Southampton/The Faraday Institution, from Bicester

For more information about the FDM everywoman in Tech Awards 2023 or the finalists  – click here.

[1]Computer Weekly

[2]Statistics taken from research by Women in STEM

[3]Computer Weekly

[4] Research from Women in Tech