What are the Diversity in Tech Awards?
The Diversity in Tech Awards 2024 will take place at 6pm on Thursday, 19th September. The Diversity in Tech Awards shine a light on organisations striving to create a more diverse & inclusive workplace. The event, which started out as the Women in Tech Awards and over the last three years has grown into a programme celebrating all facets of diversity within the tech industry, includes 17 awards celebrating the industry’s achievements in this field.
In recognising the broad efforts of promoting diversity in the workplace, the awards have been split into two category areas; Diversity in Tech and Women in Tech.
The Diversity in Tech categories include International Diversity Role Model, LGBTQ+ inclusion, social mobility, disability inclusion, cultural inclusion, generational inclusion and health and wellness. An overall International Company of the Year and Special Recognition Award are also included.
The Women in Tech categories include a focus on tech leadership, entrepreneurship, digital transformation, mentorship and data science. There will also be a special recognition award for women who have made their mark in innovation, named after pioneering US computer scientist Grace Hopper. Hopper was one of the first programmers to work on the Harvard Mark 1, the world’s first electromechanical computer.
CATEGORIES
CELEBRATING DIVERSITY IN TECH
Diverse Company Of The Year
The Diverse company of the year will be able to demonstrate a holistic and long-term commitment to Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) within their culture. They must be able to highlight their D&I strategy and how it has had a positive impact on their business. Judges will be looking at aspects such as leadership’s commitment to diversity (e.g. appointing a Chief Diversity / Equality Officer), representation of diversity at all levels of the organisation, equal access to opportunity, fair treatment practices, diversity education and training etc.
Diversity Role Model Award
This award will celebrate someone within the tech industry who is contributing to developing a culture that allows the most skilled and talented people to succeed, regardless of gender, race, physical abilities or sexual orientation. The winner of this award will have integrated Diversity & Inclusion into the very heart of the business and be able to demonstrate how they have acted as leaders within their organisation to build an inclusive and fair workforce, whilst serving as an inspiration to others.
LGBTQ+ Inclusion Award
This award will celebrate an individual, team or network that are championing LGBTQ+ issues by leading actions to remove barriers, driving an inclusive culture in the work place and taking steps to eliminate discrimination. Judges will look for examples of how these actions have created an LGBTQ+ friendly workplace, lead positive actions or interventions to enable talented LGBTQ+ employees to realise their full potential as well as minimising discrimination. Actions such as policy setting, hiring strategies, employee training, community support and network creation will be reviewed.
Disability Inclusion Award
This award will celebrate an individual, team or network that is championing action to remove barriers and improve the working experience and engagement levels of disabled employees or demonstrating excellence in the delivery of services to disabled people. Judges will look for examples of how these actions have created a disabled-friendly workplace, lead positive actions or interventions to enable talented, disabled employees to realise their full potential as well as removing bias. Actions such as policy setting, accessibility prioritisation, hiring strategies, employee training, community support and network creation will be reviewed.
Cultural Inclusion Award
This award will celebrate an individual, team or network that are championing cultural diversity issues by leading actions to remove barriers, driving an inclusive culture in the work place and taking steps to eliminate discrimination. Judges will look for examples of how these actions have created a more culturaly diverse and inclusive workplace, leading to positive actions or interventions to enable talented employees to realise their full potential regardless of race or culture, as well as minimising discrimination. Actions such as policy setting, hiring strategies, employee training, community support and network creation will be reviewed.
Health & Wellness Award
This award will celebrate an individual, team or network that is championing wellness within the workplace in order to maintain a positive and productive environment for all employees. Judges will look for examples of how wellness has been embedded into the company culture through policies, resources, initiatives and activities that have enabled employees to have a motivated and focused work-life balance.
Social Impact Award
This award will celebrate an individual, team or network that is driving significant, positive change that addresses social, political, environmental and economic challenges for communities. Judges will look for examples of how these actions have removed barriers and improved communities’ access to opportunity. Actions such as policy setting, service provision, training, community support and network creation will be reviewed.
CATEGORIES
CELEBRATING WOMEN IN TECH
Tech Leader Award
The winner of the tech leader award will hold a senior position in an organisation with 100+ employees. They will be able to demonstrate exceptional leadership, a strong vision of the future, cohesion with company culture, outstanding management skills as well as growth and innovation within their organisation over the last 12 months. The candidates will be judged on the success of their achievements and how they have inspired, motivated and encouraged employees to achieve the goals and initiatives of their organisation to grow market share. Judges will look for characteristics like self-awareness, decisiveness, fairness, enthusiasm, integrity, knowledge, creativity and imagination as well as thought leadership and endurance.
Entrepreneur Award
The winner of the entrepreneur award will head a tech, digital or e-commerce startup and will have been in business for up to 3 years. She must be able to demonstrate exceptional innovation, growth and have the potential to scale-up and sustain. Judges will review the nominee’s vision, innovation, risk optimisation, strategic perspective, passion, market knowledge and her ability to navigate a dynamic business environment. This category is open to global entrepreneurs.
Trailblazer Award
The trailblazer award is open to a woman in any organisation that can demonstrate how her success and technical aptitude has inspired and opened doors for other women to follow in her footsteps. The nominees will be judged on their leadership and business achievements that have influenced other women to thrive and flourish in technology. Judges will look for characteristics and examples of vision, drive, relentlessness, inspiration, self-confidence, strategic thinking and problem-solving.
Rising Star Award
The Rising Star award will recognise the outstanding achievements of a recent entrant into the tech industry. Her contribution to her organisation will have had a significant impact on it’s business growth and development. Nominees will demonstrate their standout achievements, how they are driving innovation, their contribution to successful projects and their understanding of how successfully implemented technology drives ROI. Judges will look for characteristics and examples of strong communication, creativity, curiosity, strong organisational skills, adaptability, passion, and confidence.
Digital Transformation Award
The winner of the digital transformation award will be tech-savvy, data driven and have the ability to inspire teams to engage in rapid experimentation that drives transformation and positive business outcomes. The nominees will be judged on how they can transfer ideas into action, build teams, keep people connected and engaged, and drive a culture of innovation, risk tolerance, and continuous improvement. Project alignment with business goals, how training and education were implemented, as well as ROI achieved will be strong considerations by the judges.
Mentorship Award
The mentorship award will celebrate a woman who, by means of advising, has helped others progress in their career, driving learning and development. The winner can be working & guiding others in any area within the tech industry. Nominees will be judged on the level of commitment they have shown their mentees and the unique ways in which they have helped develop their skills.
Young Female STEM Pioneer
The winner of the female STEM Pioneer award will be a student from secondary school or University that is showing incredible potential in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics and paving the way for other young people in these fields.
Data Scientist Award
The winner of the data scientist award will be from a small, medium or enterprise level company and will be able to balance technical nuances across domains of data, math/stats, machine learning and software as well as connecting them to business context and value. They must demonstrate how they have taken ownership of key workflow areas such as data acquisition, data quality, prioritising which aspects are most important, presentation of results and have a big picture vision that is followed by her team. Judges will look for characteristics and examples of curiosity, business understanding, passion, innovation, intuition and technical acumen.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARDS
(Not open for nomination)
Diversity in Tech Impact Award
Each year, the Diversity in Tech Impact Award will recognise one not-for-profit organisation that has demonstrated exceptional initiative to promote diversity in the workplace.
Grace Hopper Award
The Grace Hopper Award (named after the pioneering computer scientist) will pay tribute and recognise a female STEM professional, whose exceptional achievements and outstanding contributions have made a lasting impact on technology, society, and their profession.
Testimonials
“The 2018 edition of the Awards was something I certainly won’t forget. It was an incredible honour to receive the inaugural Grace Hopper Award, and it was genuinely inspirational sharing a space with so many incredible women from across Ireland. The event was pure class, and I can’t wait to return this year.”
“I see the Diversity in Tech Awards not only recognising, but amplifying the voices of founders and companies that are under-represented at the moment. These awards help everyone understand the opportunity and impact of a diverse and inclusive culture and we are excited to be working in partnership with them”
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