The everywoman in Technology Awards, the longest-running programme celebrating the tech industry’s most exceptional female talent, has unveiled an impressive shortlist of finalists who are transforming the industry through their innovation, leadership and vision.
Finalists showcase the full breath of the industry, from teenagers inspiring other girls to join computer science clubs, through to women developing tools to support Ukraine’s cyber defence strategies, and creating AI systems that accelerate discoveries in renewable energy and vaccine manufacturing.
The awards, now in their 16th year, shine a spotlight on inspirational women working in STEM at every career stage, from apprentices to C-Suite, who serve as role models to inspire and attract female talent to the tech industry.
Attracting women to the sector remains of vital importance, as female employees account for 24.8% of the total STEM workforce, and government figures suggest this has fallen from 29.4% in 2020.
The awards have continued to evolve since their inception to reflect the industry’s changing priorities, including the growing focus on AI. Women make up just 22% of AI and data professionals in the UK, but research suggests that women are 4-5% more likely than men to rate AI values such as privacy, safety, accountability, fairness and human autonomy as being very important.
The everywoman in Technology Award winners will be announced on 19th March at Westminster Park Plaza Hotel. To find out more about the awards or to nominate yourself or someone you know, visit this link.
Nicole Goodwin and Sophie Catto (below), joint managing directors of AllBright everywoman, said: “The tech industry is fundamental to the UK economy, and these awards celebrate the remarkable women who are delivering innovation and growth in this pivotal sector.
“The inspiring stories of our exceptional finalists will showcase their groundbreaking projects and highlight viable pathways for the next generation of women in STEM.”
The 2026 finalists
AI Champion – sponsored by ARM Ltd
Hana Abdi, CEO at Hanacodes (Multiverse), from London
Nausheen Basha, Research Associate at Imperial College London, from London
Hannah Brown, Senior Data Scientist at UK Hydrographic Office, from Taunton
Duygu Cakmak, R&D Director at Creative Assembly (SEGA), from Horsham
Luna Guglietta, Principal Data Scientist at Markerstudy Insurance, from Peterborough
Malini Jeyachandran, Lead Software Engineer at Lloyds Banking Group, from London
Nichola Roberts, Data Scientist – Technical Lead at ConnexAI, from Manchester
Sarah Topping, principal lead for intelligent automation and conversational AI at Ciklum, from London
Apprentice Award – sponsored by SSE
Yasmeen Bey, IT Cyber Security Apprentice at Volkswagen Group UK, from Southend-on-Sea
Filipa Chambel, Software Engineer at Elanco, from Hook
Naamua Dodoo, Software Development Engineer at Tesco, from Hertfordshire
Kelly Howes, Junior Software Engineer Apprentice at Compare The Market, from St Neots
Adebusiola Ola-Adebomi, Apprentice at PA consulting, from Aylesbury
Feng Shen Foo, Application Engineer at Siemens EDA, from Maidenhead
Cyber Security Award
Eirini Anthi, Senior Lecturer in Data Science and Cybersecurity at School of Computer Science & Informatics, Cardiff University, from Cardiff
Temi Onanuga, Group Head of IT at Aventum Group, from Edgware
Rebecca Phelps, Senior Cyber Lead at BAE Systems, from Gloucester
Vanessa Santos, Senior Security Consultant at LRQA, from Birmingham
Sabah Suhail, Research Fellow at MTU, from Cork
CTO/CIO of the Year Award – sponsored by Accenture
Pooja Bagga, Group CIO at Guardian Media Group, from London
Charlotte Chambers, Chief Digital Officer at StepChange Debt Charity, from Leeds
Nicola Emsley, CIO – Mortgages, Savings & Insurance (BUK) at Barclays, from London
Melissa Proxenos, CTO at Debtrak, from Dublin
Cristina Sabau, Chief Technology and Operations Officer at The National Heart Clinic, from London
Digital Star Award
Louise Edwards, Vehicle Specialist at 165 Regiment RLC, from Plymouth
Orla Mulvenna, Analytics Engineering Manager at Guardian Media Group, from London
Christina Vincent, Product Owner at Lloyds Banking Group, from London
Digital Transformation Leader Award – sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group
Kerry Casey-Foulkes, Director of Transformation Enablement at Virgin Media O2, from London
Dora Chatzinaki, Software Engineering Manager at Capital One, from London
Kiranpreet Chawla, Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services, from London
Debolina Guha Majumdar, Associate Partner at Infosys Consulting, from London
Anupama Hatti, Head of Programme Delivery at NHS Blood and Transplant, from Bristol
Karen Medhat, Account Technical leader at IBM, from London
Marta Velasco Fernandez, Principal Solutions Engineer & AI champion at Atlassian, from London
Kirsty Wallace, SO2 Intelligence Capabilities at Ministry of Defence, from Northwood
Software Engineer Award – sponsored by NatWest
Thulasi Bomma, Head of Software Development at Tesco, from Hertfordshire
Kasia Dutch, Software Engineer at Starling Bank, from London
Chiamaka Okenwa, Software Engineer at Monzo, from Chelmsford
Mary Tulokas, IT Engineering Director at Elanco Animal Health, from Hook
Entrepreneur Award – sponsored by AWS
Bobbie King, CEO and Co-founder at SQEPtech, from Prestbury
Hilary O’Shea, Co-founder and Chief Corporate Officer at Otonomee, from Cork
Fiona Roach Canning, Co-founder and CEO at Pollinate, from London
Innovator Award
Amrita Aurora, Senior Software Engineer at WhatsApp, from California
Hannah Leese, Reader in Chemical Engineering at University of Bath, from Bath
Stephanie Griffiths, Data Exploitation Head of Department at Royal Navy, from Portsmouth
Ganna Pogrebna, Professor, David Trimble Chair and Executive Director at AI and Cyber Futures Institute at Queens University Belfast, from Belfast
Maryna Rybalko, Product Manager at Paydock, from London
Geethu Suresh, Senior AI Engineer at Version 1, from Birmingham
Faith Xu, Senior Manager, Product Management at Amazon, from London
Leader Award – sponsored by HSBC
Kaj Bansal, Software Engineering Manager at Capital One, from London
Alison Bates, Portfolio & Applications Leader at UN PRI, from London
Angela Bates, Senior Project Manager at Discover, from Woking
Aji Bawo, Head of Commercial Product at Tesco, from Welwyn Garden City
Lara Beers, VP Global Sales at Kraken, from London
Mollie-Louise Brentnall, UKI IT Director at Crawford, from London
Jane Cubbidge, Head of Mobile and Online Banking Technology at NatWest Group, from London
Julia Whetlor, IT Director, Client-side Services at Elanco Animal Health, from Hook
Male Agent of Change Award – sponsored by Reward Insight
Mark Davis, Head of Enterprise Architecture at Arup, from London
Benjamin Hardiman, Release Manager at SSE plc, from Reading
Tim Ibell, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering & Design at University of Bath, from Bath
Matt Storey, Director of Information Security at Guardian Media Group, from London
Nick Tyson, Senior Solutions Architect & Co-founder of AWS Cloud Women Manchester at AWS, from London
One to Watch Award – sponsored by Computacenter
Aritri Kumar from Whitton
Nina Kumar from Harrogate
Saskia Hanson from Hampton
Vasiliki Panagopoulou from London
Rising Star Award – sponsored by Booking.com
Sayo Agunbiade, Data Specialist at RS Group, from Deptford
Catherine Jonan, Strategic Finance Associate at LinkedIn, from London
Olivia Mendel-Portnoy, Process Simplification Analyst at Royal Mail, from London
Danita Samuel Prakash, IT Deskside Engineer at HCL Tech, from Sunbury-on-Thames
Arushi Singh, GenAI Engineer at AJ Bell, from Manchester
Tara Spasojevic, Analytics Engineer at Virgin Media O2, from London
Jenny Zhou, Solutions Architect at AWS, from London
Tech For Good Award
Adepeju Deborah Bello, Cyberfraud R&D Analyst at Barclays, from Derby
Anna Haley, Software Engineer II – Security Research at Rapid7, from Greenisland
Rachel Irabor, Dynamics 365 CRM Developer at KPMG, from Marsascala
Oluwaseun Okunola, Vice President at World Humanitarian Support Foundation, from Carson
Yasmin Mohamud, Mentor at KastanTech AI, from Ilford
Despina Moschou, Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Culture and Inclusion at University of Bath, from Bath
Aroma Rodrigues, Technologist, from Bellevue
Team Leader Award – sponsored by Haleon
Ruth Pearson, Software Engineer Manager at IRIS, from York
Helen Stanton, UK Lab Leader and Senior Manager, IBM Research at IBM, from Hursley
Bethany Fernandes, Head of Web at Make Agency, from Hextable
Sherifat Akintunde-Shitu, UKI Master Data Management Capability Lead at Accenture, from South Ockendon
Rachel Davis, Programme Manager at Royal Mail, from London
Kripa Balachandran, Head of Product at Mission Zero Technologies, from Leamington Spa
Linda Newnes, Professor of Cost Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering at University of Bath, from Bath
Shama Hamid, Senior Software Engineering Manager at Capital One, from London