Scotland Women in Technology unveils finalists for refreshed 2024 awards 

• Over 200 entries were received in 10 categories for the 2024 Scotland Women in Technology (SWiT) Awards.

• New categories for 2024 include Mentor of the Year, Unsung Hero Award, Career Changer of the Year and Everyday Leader Award.

• Finalists were announced at an exclusive awards shortlisting event at Morgan Stanley’s Glasgow office earlier this evening.

• Winners will be announced at Radisson Blu in Glasgow on Thursday 7th November. A winner’s event will follow at JPMorganChase’s Glasgow Technology Centre on Argyle Street.

The “platforms for women to thrive” in the tech sector have been made clear following a record number of individuals and organisations who have been unveiled as finalists for the Scotland Women in Technology (SWiT) Awards 2024.

Announced during a showcase event at Morgan Stanley in Glasgow earlier this evening, 33 individuals working across 27 organisations in 10 categories were recognised for their efforts in elevating the profile of women or in driving gender equity-focused programmes within their organisations.

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.

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 winners will be announced at a prestigious awards ceremony in the Radisson Blu in Glasgow on Thursday 7th November. Morgan Stanley will Headline Sponsor the awards this year and JPMorganChase are Gold Sponsor.

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 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:

Rising Star of the Year Award

Ayela Gilani - JPM

Ainhoa Smithers Bernaras – Morgan Stanley

Ufonabasi Uduak Umo - JPM

Melina Garcia Ayala – Cyber in Schools/Hubworld

Career Changer of the Year Award

Pamela Corsar - Epipole

Shalu Madan – Lloyds Banking Group

Emma Antonelli – Nucleus Financial

Inclusive Recruiter of the Year Award

i-confidential

Hymans Robertson

Harvey Nash

Gender Diversity Ally of the Year Award

Krit Singhania - Barclays

Adam Pettman – 2i Testing

Mentor of the Year Award

Jenny Bjorkman - Interactiv

Omowumi Akintokun - student

Ruth McDonald – And Digital

Zhou Zhou - Barclays

Unsung Hero Award

Kirstie Steele – Digital Skills Education

Gemma McDonald - Barclays

Reshmi McIntosh – Lloyds Banking Group

Diversity Initiative of the Year Award

Women in Tech Aberdeen

Morgan Stanley Glasgow Women in Technology Network (WiT)

Amazon Women in Engineering (AWE)

Everyday Leader of the Year Award

Kristy Moir - Leidos

Zanna Olestsik - Accenture

Hilary Prather - Amazon

Heather McCollum - Barclays

Inspirational Woman of the Year Award

Patty O'Callaghan – Charles River

Chelsea Jarvie - MDU

Yemi Scott - XRology

Hannah Fennah - Barclays

Caroline Roberts Haritonov – Astrimar

Judges’ Choice Award

Dionne Macintosh - 2i Testing

Rohini Syed - Barclays

Bukola Popoola - PWC

Amina Okhai - Tech Women Today