As we come to the end of Women’s History Month, what better time is there to start focusing on the women of today and the future. The Women in Software awards is now its 4th year and nominations are now open!
Women in Software (WiS) was founded in 2019 by Makers Academy with the aim of creating a platform that elevates and celebrates the success of women in software and creates active role models to inspire and empower the next generation in tech.
The software sector currently suffers from an extreme lack of diversity despite significant shifts in the industry. More than 150,000 women have been recruited into tech roles over the past three years (44% uplift YoY) and over 500,000 are now working within the sector, yet only 5% of leadership positions are held by women in the uk.
Women are making significant advances and building true impact and value within the tech industry, inspiring a new generation of female entrepreneurship within tech. We want to champion and celebrate their achievements with the return of our annual Women in Software campaign.
By highlighting rising stars in software development and the incredible job they accomplish, we hope to showcase the impact and innovation of outstanding women in tech.
Each year we look to identify 20 outstanding women and 5 change making allies. Help us create this year’s list. Is there a woman you work with, or someone you know that deserves to be on this list? Someone who has overcome barriers to enter the tech industry and wants to inspire other women to do the same. This is your chance to give this person the recognition they deserve for what they do, even if it’s you!
We have two nomination categories, The PowerList, which platforms new talented women in the industry, and the ChangeMakers List, which celebrates allyship. The judging panel will include prominent industry figures such as Tanya Powell, CTO for Coding Black Females, Kimberly Cook, Director of Code Bar and Amit Sinha, CTO for Microsoft private equity — with more to be announced soon.
The Power List
The Power List celebrates women making waves and creating positive impact within software development. Winners are those who demonstrate personal achievement as well as action taken to support the next generation of women in the industry.
Take a look at some of our winners from last year…
On top of being a Makers Alumni and learning programming on her maternity leave, Happity Founder and CEO, Sara Tateno, founded her company to solve a desperate need experienced during the early stages of parenthood — reducing feelings of isolation and loneliness by creating a platform making it easy to find and book classes for young children.
Junior Software Engineer at American Express, Amber Shand began her coding journey with Code First Girls, of which she is now an ambassador and instructor. In addition to being a part of the Bank of America FinTech Mentoring program and becoming an instructor for the first time, Amber won the Pay It Forward Award with Code First Girls.
Senior Software Engineer Manager at Sky, Sophia Chambers, is also the founder of a non-profit organisation (The Donny Job Shop) that helps individuals from all walks of life to find employment, education, and training opportunities.
The ChangeMakers List
The ChangeMakers List recognises the importance of allyship and that change is the responsibility of the tech community as a whole. Nominations are to include mentors of all genders and organisations who support and accelerate the careers of women in tech. InnovateHer, Coding Black Females, The Shuri Network, NHS Digital, Tech Returners, and Digital Mums were winners of last year’s ChangeMakers list.
Nominations for both categories close on May 9th, 2022. The winners will be honoured at the Women in Software 2022 event, which will take place on June 16th during London Tech Week.
To find out more about Women in Software 2022 and to get your nominations in, head here.
