The finalists of the annual FDM everywoman in Technology Awards have been unveiled. Now in its 12th year, the awards celebrate and showcase the tech industry’s most exceptional talent, from the UK and beyond, creating role models to inspire the next generation of tech stars and address the recruitment crisis and need for diversity to drive future growth within the technology
industry.
Currently only 24% of people working in STEM in the UK are women and this is only expected to increase to 29% by 2030. Although their numbers are on the rise, women still only account for 10% of leadership roles in the industry1 .
It’s estimated that to achieve gender parity in the technology sector in the UK, one million women need to be hired and that this shift would benefit the economy by £2.6bn2 . Research
has also shown that gender balanced boards lead to better decision-making, curb excessive risk taking
and ultimately bolster a company’s bottom line.
The 2022 finalists span diverse backgrounds within the technology space and were chosen by a panel of high-profile judges including Jacqueline de Rojas CBE (President, techUK), Sheridan Ash MBE (PwC/Tech She Can), Diana Kennedy (Bupa), Gisela Abbam (British Science Association), April Moh (SUSE), amongst others.
The award winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on 9th March 2022 where over 500 tech leaders from across industry will come to network and celebrate these exceptional finalists. Maxine Benson MBE, Co-Founder of everywoman comments: “We are thrilled to be celebrating the
achievements of all our finalists, each one is a role model whose accomplishments we know will inspire future generations to pursue a career in tech. Their stories showcase the vital advancements technology is making towards saving, transforming, and improving lives while also positively impacting on the planet and ensuring the future of tech grows ever more diverse and inclusive.”
Sheila Flavell CBE, Chief Operating Officer of FDM Group comments: “As businesses across Britain rebuild, reboot and go for growth, the crucial role that women entrepreneurs and innovators play in this recovery cannot be underestimated. At FDM Group, we are all very proud to once again support these awards, which shine a spotlight on the next generation of female digital talent. The technology industry played a critical role in helping the country through the pandemic, now it’s up to all of us to go the extra mile to inspire, encourage and recruit more women to join us in this exciting journey.”
The 2022 Awards finalists are:
• ACADEMIC AWARD - awarded to a woman in academia who has made an outstanding contribution to technology and science.
o Esther Rodriguez-Villegas, Professor at Imperial College London and Co0Founder & CEO at
Acurable, from London
o Gemma Pybus, Lecturer at University of West London, from Aylesbury
o Professor Rachel Oliver, Professor of Materials Science at University of Cambridge, from
Cambridge
o Dr Sarah Morris, Head of Digital Investigation Unit and Senior Lecturer at Cranfield University,
from Shrivenham
o Tamsin King, Deputy Director of Central Timetabling at Imperial College, from London
• APPRENTICE AWARD - awarded to a young woman apprentice who is a game-changer and is excelling in her early career.
o Anna Solek, Software Engineer at JP Morgan, from Glasgow
o Chloe Bishop, Apprentice Software Engineer at American Express, from Burgess Hill
o Elizabeth Hillyard, Apprentice Software Developer at FedEx Express, from Atherstone
o Khadija Al-Selini, Software Engineer at IBM, from Manchester
o Pia Crawford Read, Cloud Engineer at Willis Towers Watson, from Ipswich
o Veronica Wadhwa, Technology Analyst at Accenture, from London
• CTO/CIO OF THE YEAR AWARD** - sponsored by Accenture - awarded to a female Chief Technology Officer, Chief Information Officer or equivalent board level executive who promotes meaningful and tangible technological change in an organisation with outstanding leadership and/or innovation.
o Aislinn McBride, Digital Services CTO at Kainos, from Belfast
o Elisa Patrizi, Head of Operations & Maintenance at INWIT, from Rome
o Hazel Olivier, CTO at TradeCrediTech, from London
o Jacqui Lipinski, CIO and Director of Digital & Technical Services at Royal College of Arts, from
London
o Sadia Ahmed, CIO at Bx Technologies Limited, from Tonbridge
o Vidya Laxman, Technology Director at Tesco, from Bangalore, India
• THE CYBER SECURITY AWARD* - sponsored by Avast - awarded to a woman who is excelling in her
role and making a tangible difference to her business in the field of cyber security.
o Carina Harrison, Senior Information Security Manager at American Express, from Brighton
o Carol Raynes, Head of Cyber Security at Royal London Group, from Macclesfield
o Fay Sears, Cyber Security Supply Chain Assurance at SSE, from Havant
o Mia Axtell, Senior Security Analyst at ARM, from Trumpington
o Saba Mohammed, Vice President – Cybersecurity Education Program Lead at JP Morgan, from
Bournemouth
o Sema Yuce, Director at Truth ISC Technology and Security Consultancy Ltd, from London
• DIGITAL STAR AWARD - sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group - awarded to a woman who is excelling
in a digital role.
o Abigail Allman, Chief Marketing Officer at ERP Dynamics, from London
o Gemma Hackney, Senior ADAM Engineer at Royal London, from Macclesfield
o Gigi Taguri, Director of Medical Technology at LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor, from London
o Kaveta Mistry, Solution Leader – B2C eCommerce at McKesson UK, from Coventry
o Laveena Ramchandani, Testing and Quality Assurance Lead at EasyJet, from Greenford
o Priyanka Gangishetty, Senior Azure Customer Engineer at Microsoft, from Reading
• DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION LEADER AWARD - sponsored by Bupa - awarded to a female leader who has led the digital transformation of an organisation.
o Gill Glover, Head of Evergreen and M365 Product Owner at Lloyds Banking Group, from
Manchester
o Helen Hancox, Software Engineering Manager at Accenture, from Surrey
o Malgorzata (Margo) Urban, Director of Product at Anthony Nolan, from London
o Neeta Mundra, Financial Services Transformation Adviser at Salesforce, from London
o Polly Caldwell, Product Lead at Auto Trader, from Manchester
o Silvia Diogo, Partner | Technology Strategy, Innovation & Transformation | Financial Services at
KMPG LLP, from London
o Dr Sophia Fannon-Howell, Principal Data and Analytics – B2B & Emerging Solutions at BP, from
London
• ENTREPRENEUR AWARD - sponsored by Howden Group Holdings - awarded to an owner/operator
of a technology business who will inspire others to start their own technology-related venture
(trading for a minimum of 24 months).
o Alexandra Depledge MBE, Founder & CEO at Resi, from London
o Jordan Brompton, Co-Founder and CMO at myenergi, from Grimsby
o Joy Foster, Found and CEO at TechPixies, from Fulbrook
o Melinda Nicci, Founder & CEO at Body Collective, from London
• INNOVATOR AWARD - sponsored by American Express - awarded to a woman designing, developing, researching, implementing or being exceptionally creative with technology in an unconventional and innovative way.
o Alison Ettridge, Chief Believer (CEO) at Talent Intuition Ltd, from Cardiff
o Anne Widdop, Founding Director at The VR Hive, from Arisaig
o Ilana Wisby, CEO at Oxford Quantum Circuits, from Reading
o Joana Paiva, CTO & Co-Founder of Intelligent Lab on Fiber Limited (iLOF), from London
o Rubina Singh, Head of Ideation Delivery at Centrica, from London
• LEADER AWARD - sponsored by Twilio - awarded to the woman operating in a senior technology
role within her organisation.
o Donna-Marie Patten, Global Technology Infrastructure (GTI) EMEA Technology Delivery Lead at
JP Morgan Chase & Co, from Hertfordshire
o Fiona Gallagher-Payet, Global Director, Enterprise Operations Engagement at Meta, from Dublin
o Folashade Adetunji, Release Train Engineer at Discover Financial Services, from Portsmouth
o Kristina Marriott, Value Stream Product Owner at Lloyds Banking Group, from London
o Lois Aldington, Director of Data Science at Deliveroo, from Hertford
o Sara Jones, Mobile Operations Director at BT plc, Almondsbury
o Victoria Cope, Head of Procurement and Supply Chain – Major Systems and Equipment at BAE
Systems, from Fleet
• MALE AGENT OF CHANGE AWARD - awarded to a male agent of change for their active commitment to encouraging, advancing, sponsoring, or championing the progress of women working in technology.
o Darren Miles, Chief Information Officer at Centrica, from Windsor
o Juan Villamil, Chief Information Officer at Imperial College London, from London
o Kevin Dainty, Client Relationship Manager of Reed Technology, from London
o Michael Sanders, Manager Director – Head of Macro Technology at JP Morgan, from London
o Tom King, People Strategy Lead at M&G, from London
o Kas Arshad, Analysis Practice Lead at Royal London, from Edinburgh
• ONE TO WATCH AWARD - sponsored by Computacentre - awarded to a girl aged 11-18 who is
actively encouraging girls to study STEM subjects at school-level or making waves in the tech space.
o Imogen Mann, Student at Highgate School, from London
o Joely To, Founder & CEO of Pioneer, from London
o Lea Button, Student at Queen Anne’s School, from Caversham
• RISING STAR AWARD - sponsored by SUSE - awarded to a woman aged 26 or under who is excelling
in her technology career, making a valuable contribution to her organisation.
o Amber Swift, Performance Insights Analyst at Northumbrian Water, from Durham
o Giorgia Litwin, Sales Specialist – Adaptive Organisation at Fujitsu, from London
o Harshitha Shivakumar, Technical Consultant at IBM, from London
o Rituja Rao, Senior Enterprise Project Manager at Deliveroo, from Northampton
o Roxanne Sammons, Software Engineer at JP Morgan, from London
o Tulika Agarwal, Assistant Manager at KPMG, from London
• SOFTWARE ENGINEER AWARD - sponsored by NatWest Group - Awarded to a woman who has made a significant difference to the art of software engineering.
o Emily Lawton, Senior Software Engineer at REPL, from Henley in Arden
o Katerina Sidiropoulou, Lead Software Developer, Software Engineering at Discover Financial
Services, from Farnborough
o Kim Diep, Software Engineer & Tech Coach at Tech Returners, from London
o Shweta Patil, Senior Software Engineer at IRIS Software Group, from London
• TEAM LEADER AWARD - sponsored by Fujitsu - awarded to a woman whose team leadership has
greatly contributed to the organisation’s success.
o Emma Rothschild, Senior Sales Manager, Nordics & Benelux at Twilio, from London
o Jess Majekodunmi, Director, Human Sciences Studio at Accenture, from London
o Joanne Rose, Head of Salesforce Platform at Centrica, from Leicester
o Johanna Chant, Manager IT at FedEx Express, from Essex
o Laura Magnani, Solution Architect and UKI Technology I&D Lead at Accenture, from London
o Liz Lutgendorff, Lead Insight and Analysis Advisor at Government Digital Service, from London
• THE TECH FOR GOOD AWARD** - sponsored by RS Components - awarded to a woman who is
driving forward an initiative that uses tech for good.
o Caroline Laurenson, Managing Director at TL Tech Ltd, from Aberdeenshire
o Eleanor Harry, Managing Director at HACE, from Manchester
o Kavitha Krishnamurthy, PMO Team Leader at Cognizant, from Chennai, India
o Namrata Sharma, Manager, Founder & Global Lead of Deloitte’s Women for Ethical AI Network at
Deloitte, from London
For further press information please contact Francesca Stainer, PR Manager:
francesca@everywoman.com
@everywomanUK #ewTechAwards #womendotech
For more information about the FDM everywoman in Tech Awards 2022 – click here.
* The Cyber Security Award is a new category this year
** This category was open for international nominations this year
-- ENDS --
Notes to Editors
About everywoman
Advancing women in business - every woman, everywhere.
everywoman is a global platform for women in business that drives positive change by empowering women to achieve their professional potential. Established in 1999, everywoman has supported thousands of women worldwide in establishing businesses and progressing their careers. Working with leading corporations and organisations, everywoman improves productivity and performance through diversity insights to unlock female potential resulting in economic and societal gain. Through its cross-industry awards and forums everywoman has created thousands of female role models and inspired generations of future leaders. For more information visit
www.www.everywoman.com/
About FDM Group
FDM Group is a strategic talent partner, placing business ready tech professionals including graduates, ex-forces personnel and returners to work with clients across a number of sectors every year. We work in partnership with our clients to fill speciality skills gaps within their teams, building their diverse talent pipelines for the future.
With centres across Europe, North America and APAC, FDM has shown exponential growth throughout the years, firmly establishing itself as an award-winning FTSE 250 employer.
FDM continues to recognise the benefits of embracing diversity, inclusivity and social mobility within the workforce. From our UK consultant intake in 2020 who chose to disclose, 46% identify as BAME, 44% were the first in their family to attend university, 90% attended a state school, 6% identify as LGBTQ and 5% identify with having a disability. In an effort to support women to thrive in the tech and business space, we are also committed to closing our gender pay gap event further. We are pleased to report a gender pay gap of -9.6% this year, as a result of many initiatives we have in place including the success and growth of our Returners Programme and the increase in senior consultant numbers. The percentage of females receiving a bonus has also increased by 2.3%, now at 88.1% up from
85.8% in 2020. For more information, please visit fdmgroup.com or read our Gender Pay Gap report here.