A big congratulations to the finalists for this year’s Women in IT Awards Ireland. The shortlist of influential women, organisations, and allies has been announced ahead of the ceremony on December 7, 2021.
According to the Central Statistics Office, less than 25% of STEM jobs in Ireland are filled by women, which is why highlighting the achievements of women in the Irish tech space is so important.
But lack of female representation in Irish STEM isn’t just an equality issue; it’s an innovation issue. In 2019, over 94% of engineering employers in Ireland reported skills shortages as a barrier to growth.
Another 2019 report revealed a significant drop-off in interest in STEM subjects at Leaving Certificate, especially among women. Following Brexit, Ireland has an opportunity to establish itself as a diverse and inclusive tech sector, and ensuring women have a seat at the table will go a long way.
Ahead of the WIT Ireland awards ceremony on December 7, 2021, here’s a snapshot of three awards categories: Woman of the Year, Male Ally of the Year, and Tech for Good Award.
Woman of the Year, allyship and tech for good awards
Woman of the Year is one of the most iconic awards categories considering that increasing female representation is a core way to improve diversity and inclusion in tech.
The judges say the winner will have “demonstrated the highest degree of IT excellence, innovation and leadership in the last year, and shone a light on the great things women in IT can achieve.”
Those included in the shortlist, the judges add, should have “demonstrated outstanding business- and technology-focused achievements, but also give examples on how they have actively sought to bring more diversity into the technology industry.”
Here are the inspirational female finalists:
Jeevantika Lingalwar, Microsoft
Sheetal Dash, Citibank U.K.
Joanne Buckley, Cognizant
Jennifer Cox, Tenable
Fidelma McGuirk, Payslip
Caroline O’Driscoll, Deloitte / iWish
Sidra Bashir, Eagle Alpha
Aside from greater female representation and more role models, allyship is crucial to improving gender equity in the tech sector, which is why Male Ally of the Year is another important category in the awards.
The judges have described a male ally as someone “who has gone out of his way to improve the diversity levels of women in IT, within the organisation or in the wider community.”
They also said that “successful nominations must provide case studies or examples of how the candidate has gone of their way, or strategically prioritised, getting more women into IT or supporting them in their careers.”
The top male allies are below:
Jamie Rickard, Deloitte
Paul Kinsella, Cognizant
Joe Gaffey, Ericsson
With this year’s Women in IT Summit Ireland’s theme being “Tech for the Better”, it’s no surprise that the Tech for Good Award of the Year features in the following awards ceremony.
The shortlist for this category includes organisations “using technology to improve the lives of others and the world around us”, including those involved in corporate social responsibility, charity work, or “green and sustainability initiatives that are driven or implemented using pioneering digital techniques.”
Those shortlisted will have demonstrated “effectiveness, innovation, and overall commitment to doing good” through the use of technology.
The shortlist for the Tech for Good Award includes:
Kalyani Pawar, Citi
Sidra Bashir, Eagle Alpha
Saylists, Rothco part of Accenture Interactive
Nandhini Haridas, John Sisk & Son
Jacinta Linehan, Origin Enterprises plc
Claire Sinnott & Daisy Grehan, Deloitte Ireland LLP
Ding
Pat O’Connor, VRAI
IAG Team, Cognizant
To view the Women in IT Awards Ireland 2021 shortlist in full, please click here.
