Women in IT Awards 2021 - USA | Bonhill Group PLC | TBA

According to a report by The World Bank, women make up less than 40% of the total global workforce. A report from McKinsey found that diverse companies perform better, hire better talent, have more engaged employees and retain workers better than companies that do not focus on diversity and inclusion. Despite this, women remain widely underrepresented in IT roles (CIO United States, 2020).

Progression around gender equity has, arguably, taken larger leaps than other areas of inclusion; globally, there is still a notorious lack of representation of black and minority ethnic professionals, workers with disabilities and those from the LGBTQ+ community. Diversity at all intersections is critical in tech, as it enables companies to create better and safer products that take everyone into consideration, not just one section of society.

The prestigious Women in IT Awards initiative, presented by DiversityQ, has been working to change these statistics since 2015, by providing a regional and global platform to showcase advocates, role models and allies working together to break digital boundaries and promote the importance of a more inclusive tech sector. Year on year we reassess, adapt and innovate, introducing new categories to remain inclusive and considerate of market developments, roles and responsibilities.

We will award high-achievers, advocates and role models across the USA tech sector, from the efforts of entrepreneurs and start-ups, to large corporate and industry champions. This year, there are 20 categories including CTO, DEI Initiative, Next Generation Leader, Innovator and Woman of the Year.

Nominations for 2021 will be opening shortly! Please check back for updates.

Award Categories:
• Advocate of the Year
• Business Role Model of the Year
• CIO of the Year
• CTO of the Year
• Data Leader of the Year
• Digital Leader of the Year
• Diversity Initiative of the Year
• Employer of the Year
• Entrepreneur of the Year
• E-skills Initiative of the Year
• Innovator of the Year
• IT Team of the Year (Led by a woman)
• Male Ally of the Year
• Rising Star of the Year
• Security Champion of the Year
• Tech Evangelist of the Year
• Tech for Good Award of the Year
• Transformation Leader of the Year
• Woman of the Year
• Young Leader of the Year

2020 Winners

Advocate of the Year:
• Tracey Welson-Rossman – TechGirlz

Business Role Model of the Year:
• Neha Joshi – Accenture Security

CIO of the Year:
• Mary Kotch – Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd

CTO of the Year:
• Chandra Dandapani – CBRE

Data Leader of the Year:
• Adita Karkera – State of Arkansas, Department of Transformation & Shared Services, Division of Information Systems

Digital Leader of the Year:
• Melissa Stevens – Fifth Third Bank

Diversity Initiative of the Year:
• Women Who Succeed – Atos

Employer of the Year:
• HP Inc

Entrepreneur of the Year:
• Vicki Mayo – Touchpoint Solution

E-skills Initiative of the Year:
• CO.LAB – Red Hat

Innovator of the Year:
• Mariesa Coughanour – Cognizant

IT Team of the Year (Led by a woman):
• Pearson – Team led by Marykay Wells

Male Ally of the Year:
• Devon Bryan – MUFG Union Bank, N.A

Rising Star of the Year:
• Aditi Roy – Siemens Corporate Technology

Security Champion of the Year:
• Lena Smart – MongoDB

Tech Evangelist of the Year:
• Rebecca Kelly – KX

Tech for Good Award of the Year:
• Faye Sahai – Vinaj & Mirai.Global

Transformation Leader of the Year:
• Suzi Connor – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Woman of the Year:
• Rhonda Childress – IBM

Young Leader of the Year:
• Iris Yung – Bank of America