Although there has undoubtedly been progress in closing the gender gap, there are still widespread inequalities for women in tech.

Women make up only 20% of tech roles – although this is 3% higher than the national average – it’s still far too little.

New research has found that women in Britain are still facing barriers when trying to get into tech-related roles, including gender bias and lack of lack of support during schooling.

However, despite the dearth of female presence in top-end tech roles, it doesn’t stop the most influential women in Scottish tech having a profound effect on the industry’s ecosystem.

On International Women’s Day, we have complied a list of 11 well-known faces and rising stars in the Scottish technology sector making an impact across the country.

Scotland’s Top Women in Tech

Elizabeth Hollinger, Director of Analytics, Aggreko

Elizabeth Hollinger is the director of insights at Aggreko and is ranked among the most influential practitioners in data and analytics in Data IQ’s Big Data 100.

She has held senior roles at Deloitte UK and is the Chief Data Officer Governing Body Member at Evanta, a Gartner company.

Hollinger has been a guest on many industry panels and podcasts talking about diversity and inclusion in the data industry and how to develop a leadership style

Jude McCorry, CEO, Scottish Business Resilience Centre

Jude McCorry is CEO of the SBRC and has more than 20 years’ experience in the technology sector.

She began her career with Dell computers in Ireland and joined SBRC in April 2020 from The Data Lab where she was Director of Business Development working with industry and academia to maximise the value of data in Scotland.

She is one of the founders of the UNICEF Data Hub for Children, and always ensures there is a social aspect to everything she does to benefit the people of Scotland or further afield.

McCorry is also a board member of Parkinson’s Scotland and the Policy Board at SCDI.

Karen Meechan, CEO, ScotlandIS

Karen Meechan is a passionate supporter of the Scottish digital tech industry and has been for over 15 years.

As CEO of ScotlandIS, the membership body for the industry, she oversees a team of 12 and is inspired daily by meeting and talking to our members who create technology solutions that change the way we all live.

One of the greatest parts of her job is watching these companies take something from little more than an idea on paper, to a hugely successful business

Kate Forbes MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy, the Scottish Government

Kate Forbes is the Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency (which includes Dingwall, the Black Isle and the Great Glen) and Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy in the Scottish Government.

Forbes is from Dingwall, although she spent part of her upbringing in Glasgow and India. Until she was elected as MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Forbes was employed as an accountant in the banking industry.

Prior to that she studied History at the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh. She was successfully re-elected as the constituency MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch on 7 May, 2021.

She was formally appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy on 20 May 2021.

Louise Smith, Chair, Innovate Finance

Louise Smith is the Chair at Innovate Finance and at the forefront of influencing the changing shape and evolution of the Financial Services Market in the UK and globally.

She has been at the heart of preparing the Royal Bank of Scotland (including NatWest) for the future, during the organisation’s significant turnaround to profit. Leading and implementing the Retail Bank’s ‘Digital First’ strategy using customer experience and insights to simplify and differentiate the bank’s service to its customers.

Appointed into Lloyd’s of London as the first Chief Digital Officer in its history, over the last two years Smith has been shaping and delivering the organisation’s digital future and the creation of a data-enabled, digital insurance marketplace.

Recently appointed as Chair of Innovate Finance and an appointed Government FinTech Envoy, Smith is recognised at a national and international level for supporting the advancement of the FinTech Community and next generation of financial services innovators.

Smith has also been recognised as one of the Top 100 UK leaders in Digital by British Interactive Media Association and has received recognition for her work providing a platform for FinTech globally.

Marnie McCormack, Managing Director: Software Engineering, JP Morgan Chase & Co

Marnie McCormack has 20 years’ experience leading software development projects, working in a variety of technical roles and domains.

She started out developing student admissions applications for the University of Glasgow, moved on to call centre technology and global sales applications at British Telecom.

McCormack enjoyed a short stint at a data mining dotcom startup before joining JPMorgan in 2001.

At JPMorgan, McCormack joined as a developer in equities, writing pricing applications for the trading floor before moving on to equity research distribution systems via investment bank architecture before landing in global technology infrastructure.

She has a passion for technology and growth, combining her inner nerd with a commitment to advance the technology landscape for JPMorgan’s clients internal and external.

McCormack is also a member of the Glasgow Technology Leadership team and active in a range of diversity programmes across JPMorgan.

Melinda Matthews, CEO, CodeClan

Melinda Matthews has spent her 25-year career as a leader in technology. She is currently the CEO of CodeClan where she leverages her passion for people and her business skills to drive growth into the Scottish digital economy.

She has held roles as a VP of Sales, Global Executive of Business Development & Enablement, Director of Marketing and VP of Alliances and Partnerships.

Matthews has a BS degree in Sales and Marketing Education; has certifications from UCLA Women in Leadership, Executive Coaching and Mentoring from Edinburgh Coaching Academy, and has been recognised in the Top 100 Women in CRN Software Channel publication from 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Nicola Anderson, CEO, FinTech Scotland

Nicola Anderson is the CEO of FinTech Scotland, a strategic cluster management organisation that works across the private, public and third sectors, as well as academia to enable economic growth and inclusion in developing digital financial services.

Initially joining FinTech Scotland as Strategic Development Director in 2018, she has worked on a range of collaborative initiatives to develop Scotland’s fintech cluster, including work with the University of Edinburgh in developing the Global Open Finance Centre of Excellence.

Since joining FinTech Scotland, Anderson has worked with the FinTech SME community, supporting SMEs in navigating the regulatory environment, with proposition development and business innovations focused on customer outcomes.

Before joining FinTech Scotland, Anderson was a part of the FCA’s leadership team in the retail banking sector, where she led and contributed to the development of solutions needed to address industry issues following the financial crisis.

Pooja Jain, CEO & Founder, CogniHealth

Pooja Jain is the Co-Founder and CEO of CogniHealth. She is interested in the role and use of digital technology in health and social care, with the viewpoint of “it’s not about the technology but people and their mindset”.

Jain started her journey focusing on the dementia care sector. She worked as a professional career and sees that it is possible to live well with dementia.

She co-founded CogniHealth, a Scottish health-tech startup, that aims to improve the quality of life of affected families.

Her work so far at CogniHealth has led Jain to be named the Top 20 women to watch out for in Scotland in 2018 by Business Insider. Pooja is a former RSE Unlocking Ambition Enterprise Fellow and won the AcceleratHer Award hosted by Investing Women.

Dr Sonali Mohapatra, Quantum Developer & Space Applications Lead, Craft Prospect

Dr Sonali Mohapatra is the Space Applications Lead at Space Engineering Company Craft Prospect, which has a mission to drive smart and secure space futures.

With a PhD in Particle Physics and Quantum Gravity and an interdisciplinary background in quantum, optics and AI, Mohapatra works across the AI and quantum verticals at Craft Prospect, identifying innovative quantum and AI solutions for space, driving strategy and business development, and bridging the gap between innovation and commercialisation.

She is part of the upcoming mission ROKS, which will be the first-ever CubeSat mission in the world to demonstrate AI powered Satellite to Earth Quantum Key Distribution for future cybersecurity.

Mohapatra is also a science writer, speaker and the Chair of the New Voices in Space Working Group of Space Scotland (SSLC) which focuses on equality, diversity and inclusion in the UK/Scottish Sector building upon nine years of experience in the DEI sector

Sorcha Lorimer, CEO & Founder, Trace

Sorcha Lorimer is the CEO & Founder of Trace. She is also the Data Governance & Privacy Lead at the Global Open Finance Centre of Excellence (GOFCoE), and part of the founding editorial board at Springer’s AI & Ethics’ journal.

She is a qualified privacy professional with over a decade in tech, digital risk, governance, and data leadership.

Lorimer describes her self as a “tech savvy, creative, customer focussed leader” with a passion for digital, data ethics, privacy and user-centred design.

She says she is “on a mission” to make complex data protection regulations simple, visual and beneficial for every organisation and embed Privacy by Design into operations.

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