Scotland’s women in technology to be celebrated at Glasgow event

Scotland’s women in technology are to be celebrated at an annual awards bash in Glasgow next month.

Record numbers of individuals and organisations have been nominated this year for the Scotland Women in Technology (SWiT) awards, which unveiled its finalists today.

Over 200 entries were received in 10 categories, which were whittled down 33 nominations spanning 27 organisations in an event at headline sponsor Morgan Stanley’s offices yesterday evening.

The nominees are all cited for their efforts in elevating the profile of women or in driving gender equity-focused programmes within their organisations. They will take part in the SWiT Awards at the Radisson Blu Glasgow hotel on Thursday 7^th November.

Silka Patel, founder and chair of Scotland Women in Technology, said: “Each year, the judges and I discuss how difficult it is to create a shortlist for the awards. With over 200 entries received this year alone, we were blown away by the calibre of programmes and efforts to champion and inspire women working in the Scottish tech sector.

“This is not only a testament to more organisations recognising the value that women bring to the sector, but also demonstrates the fire in the bellies of those trailblazing women and their allies working with them to ensure they have a platform to thrive.”

The awards, which have been refreshed for 2024, include four new categories: Mentor of the Year, Unsung Hero Award, Career Changer of the Year and Everyday Leader Award.

Amongst the new categories, individuals from Interaktiv, AND Digital, Barclays, Accenture, Amazon Web Services, Edinburgh Napier University, Nucleus Financial, Digital Skills Education and Lloyds Banking Group have been recognised for their passion, skills and dedication to progressing gender equity. 

The Inspirational Woman of the Year category is particularly competitive this year where five awe-inspiring women have been shortlisted. Those nominated in the category include Patty O’Callaghan, technical director at Charles River Laboratories; Chelsea Jarvie, CISO at MDU; Yemi Scott, founder of XRology; Hannah Fennah, developer at Barclays; and Caroline Roberts Haritonov, managing director at Astrimar.

Gordon Stein, head of Glasgow technology at Morgan Stanley, said: “Morgan Stanley is a passionate advocate for women in technology and proud to be the headline sponsor of the Scotland Women in Technology Awards. As a company that has greatly benefited from strong representation of women in our senior ranks and a diverse workforce overall, we are excited to celebrate and recognise the achievements of women in tech across Scotland.”

Mark Napier, Glasgow Technology Centre lead at JPMorganChase, gold sponsor, said: “JPMorganChase is once again proud to sponsor the Scotland Women in Technology Awards.  We are looking forward to coming together to honour and celebrate the incredible tech talent we have in Scotland. This is extremely important to the ongoing success of our organisation and growth within the sector.”

The full shortlist of nominees for the SWiT Awards 2024 include: