Makers to honour women in software in fourth annual awards

Makers is making a final call for nominations for women in the software development sector to enter its annual Women in Software Awards.

There are two categories in the Makers Women in Software Awards: the Power List, which features women who are making an impact early in their software careers, and the ChangeMakers List, which features teams in the tech sector that are making a positive impact for diversity and inclusion in the software sector.

This will be the fourth year the software bootcamp will shine a spotlight on 20 up-and-comers in the UK software development space, and its third year celebrating teams, people or organisations running initiatives that are improving diversity in the software sector.

“We are thrilled to continue our initiative in shining a spotlight on the incredible women joining the software industry,” said Claudia Harris, CEO of Makers.

“Recognising the accomplishments of exceptional women in the sector is critical to bringing the community closer together and inspiring others to consider a career in the digital economy. We look forward to receiving nominations across the UK and celebrating the incredible talent that is helping to shape the world we live in.”

Women make up about 17% of IT professionals in the UK, a figure that has barely moved over the last five years, according to a recent study by the BCS.

There are many reported reasons why women choose not to go into tech-based roles, one of which is a lack of role models. Young women in the past have even claimed that they wanted more encouragement and support from women already in the tech sector, often regretting the decision to move away from science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM)-based subjects further down the line.

Visible and accessible role models within an industry can make an important difference to whether or not young women choose to pursue this type of career – Harris says on the Women in Software Awards submissions page that role models can be “one of the most powerful levers” for encouraging people to aim for goals they didn’t previously think were possible.

The aim of the Makers Women in Software Awards is to focus on the achievements of women early on in their software careers, as well as their contributions to the sector.

Anyone can put forward a nomination for the Power List and ChangeMakers List categories.

For the Power List category, nominees need to be women who have been part of the sector for six years or less, and Makers, along with a panel of judges including Tanya Powel, co-CTO of Coding Black Females, Kimberly Cook, director of Codebar, and Amit Sinha, chief technology officer at Microsoft, will select 20 women to be highlighted using the following criteria:

• Growth – in learning and leadership.
• Influence – in the community and among peers.
• Innovation – contributing to interesting projects at work or independently.

For the ChangeMakers List category, Makers is looking to highlight people of all genders, teams or organisations who are making a positive change to diversity and inclusion in the UK’s tech sector through initiatives, allyship and ongoing support.

The deadline for nominations for both Women in Software Awards categories is 2 May, with the winners being announced at a special event in June 2022.