The founder of Scotland Women in Technology (SWiT) has hailed entries to the SWiT awards as “inspiring” following a surge in nominations to the ceremony after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

More than 160 submissions were received from across Scotland, with 25 individuals and 13 organisations shortlisted across 10 categories.

Finalists in the much-coveted Leader of the Year category include Karen Meechan, CEO at ScotlandIS, Gillian McLennan, managing director at JP Morgan, Jane Poojari, software development manager at Amazon, and Jacqui McDonald, CIO of group finance at Barclays.

The shortlist was announced at the sold out SWiT Awards Shortlist Conference hosted by headline sponsor Morgan Stanely on 5 October in Glasgow. At the event, SWiT founder and chair, Silka Patel, acknowledged the calibre of the entries and applauded the push from Scotland’s tech sector to champion women working in technology-focused roles.

The shortlist includes figures from large corporates and SMEs across the public, private, and third sectors who are championing diversity, equality, and inclusion within the Scottish tech sector. New award categories for 2023 include Young Tech Champion of the Year and Gender Diversity Ally of the Year.

Commenting on the shortlist, Silka Patel said: “The pandemic impacted women across all sectors – including the tech sector. Caring responsibilities alongside homeschooling and furlough put a pause on the tech careers of many women. Encouragingly, we are now seeing more women than ever enter computing-based courses which will provide a huge boost to the industry in the coming years.”

Patel’s sentiments are true, and while there may be more women studying computing science courses, the tech sphere in Scotland is still male-dominated.

The UK actually saw a drop in the number of women in tech between the first and second quarters of 2023, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

Women are also still leaving their tech roles, citing care responsibilities and company culture as reasons they are leaving the industry altogether.

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These statistics make initiatives and awards, like the SWiT awards, that much more vital in fostering an inclusive community and highlighting the work of women in the tech industry.

“While the awards have been on hiatus, I have seen first-hand how more people and organisations have made a concerted effort to drive equality not only in the workplace but across the technology sector, ” Patel continued. “I am heartened by these proactive steps to champion the profile and professional development of women in technical and leadership roles across Scotland.

“It was a challenge to whittle our list of entrants down to the final shortlist – and it has been inspiring to see so many new faces put themselves forward for the awards. The judges now have a very tricky job on their hands ahead of our ceremony next month.”

The shortlist will now be reviewed by SWiT awards judging panel, which includes:

• Claire El-Ezebbi, Head of Cyber Resilience at the Scottish Government
• Alison McLaughlin, Member of the ScotlandIS board
• Dilraj Sokhi-Watson, Director, Equate Scotland
• Craig Steele, Director, Digital Skills Education
• Graeme Gordon, CEO, IFB
• Ailish Jamieson, Senior HR Partner for EMEA, SAS Ltd
• Ray Bugg, Founder, DIGIT
• Polly Purvis OBE, Non-executive director
• Maggie Titmuss, National Cyber Resilience Advisory Board board member
• Steven Grier, Director of Devolved Government, Microsoft
• Samantha Bedford, COO, Gen+
• Enoch Adeyemi, Co-Founder, Black Professionals Scotland

The full list of individuals and organisations shortlisted for the SWiT Awards 2023 includes: