The finalists for the 2025 Bupa Everywoman in Technology Awards have been announced prior to the awards ceremony in March.
This year is the 15th year the women’s professional network has run its tech award scheme designed to showcase and celebrate amazing women in the IT sector at all stages of their careers, and during this time these awards have highlighted more than 500 role models.
The number of women in the technology sector hasn’t changed significantly enough in the last 10 years, with research from BCS finding in 2022 the number of women in the industry had only increased by 4% in the five years prior.
The same study found if the pace of change stays the same, it will take 300 years for the percentage of women in the technology sector to make the percentage of women in the wider workforce.
To try and address this, many companies, schools and industry bodies are focused on increasing the number of visible and accessible role models working in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) to educate and inspire others on the opportunities available to them if they choose a STEM career.
Referencing Everywoman and Bupa’s The Wellbeing/ Advancement Equation: Solving for a Gender-Balanced Workplace report Maxine Benson, co-founder of Everywoman, said: “A study of the Everywoman in Tech community, in collaboration with Bupa, found that for 39% of women working in technology, the female role model deficit was a top challenge in achieving their career ambitions.
“The scarcity of role models is prevalent across the board, with entry-level women recognising this in equal measure to women who have made it to the C-suite.
“This has a cascading effect and limits access to mentorship and guidance for aspiring women technologists. Role models serve not just as beacons of achievement, but also as tangible proof that success is attainable, providing the roadmap and the necessary encouragement to navigate a field in which they are underrepresented.”
The finalists for the 2025 Everywoman in Tech Awards are as follows:
AI Champion Award – sponsored by ARM
- Bella Boulderstone, senior data scientist, Capgemini Engineering, from Newbury
- Carla Brackstone, senior partnerships manager, Kheiron Medical Technologies,
- Erin Nicholson, Global data protection officer and head of ai compliance and privacy, Thoughtworks
- Hannah Feely, defence equipment and support automation and AI team lead, Ministry of Defence
- Humairah Patel, innovation delivery lead, Aventum Group
- Kavya Vibhu, senior product manager, M&G Investments
- Maryleen Amaizu, senior machine learning engineer, Redgate
- Meghan Avery, senior engineer, American Express
Apprentice Award – sponsored by SSE
- Alexia Williams, lifecycle engineer, Rolls-Royce Plc
- Elizabeth Gardiner, pega apprentice, Jetty Technologies
- Grace Thomas, management consulting associate, Accenture
- Lizzie Veale, experience consultant, IBM
- Tanzy Kelley, undergraduate engineer, Dyson
- Zoe Hurst, cloud platform engineer, WTW
CTO/CIO Award – sponsored by Accenture
- Amanda Barker, chief technology officer & VP – IS strategy & architecture, Centrica
- Ashley Warren, CIO, SSE Plc
- Jenny Rae, chief information officer, Imperial College London
- Joanna Pamphilis, CIO, Global head of investments and securities digital products, UniCredt
- Sally Marriott, chief technology officer, Tesco Mobile
- Tiffany Wilcox, chief technology officer, Datapharm Ltd
Cyber Security Award – sponsored by BAE
- Floriana Zefi, senior machine learning scientist, Booking.com
- Michelle Tolmay, chief information security officer, Kaluza
- Rebecca Taylor, threat intelligence knowledge manager, Secureworks
- Sarah Rench, Global generative AI security director, Avanade
- Shalu Madan, detective engineer, Lloyds Bank
Digital Star Award – sponsored by AWS
- Alessandra Tomassi, senior pipeline technical director, Industrial Light & Magic
- Ella Hulbert, EMEA head of PR & AR, Lenovo UK Limited
- Sabby Jivanji, senior product manager, Sage Publishing
- Shadi Safaee, software engineer, Centrica
- Shahzadi Awan, front end software engineer II, Booking.com
- Rosie Robertson, Net Zero engagement specialist and data lead, whole systems, SSEN Distribution
Digital Transformation Leader Award – sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group
- Chara Gravani, architecture & engineering manager for AWS GenAI innovation centre, Amazon Web Services
- Emma Green, head of colleague virtual assistant, Centrica
- Manasi Bhalerao, product director – technology, Tesco Group
- Nikki Williams, head of programme operations, Serco Ltd
- Oluwaseun Okunola, vice president/chief information officer, World Humanitarian Support Foundation
- Rosanne Kincaid-Smith, group chief operating officer, Northern Data Group
- Subhashree Srinivasan, digital transformation expert, BASF Services Europe GmbH
Entrepreneur Award – sponsored by Howden
- Georgina Fairhall, founder & CEO, WAC
- Kath Clarke, Founder & CEO, BlckBx Ltd
- Lucy Shrimpton, managing director, The Sleep Nanny
- Samantha Payne, chief marketing officer, Open Bionics
Innovator Award – sponsored by American Express
- Ghadir Siyam, lead product manager, BP
- Laurence Levy, founder & CEO, MeditSimple
- Roberta Marchini, EMEA infrastructure solutions group segments director of product management and technical sales support, Lenovo
- Susan Falola, founder & CEO, JUUBIX
- Yao Yao, software engineer, JP Morgan Chase
Leader Award – sponsored by HSBC
- Anna Di Silverio, president – Europe and Middle East, Avanade
- Karen Gunn, managing director, Accenture
- Kerri Adair, senior vice president, Citi
- Lise-Ann Brennan, director of technology subscriptions, Daily Telegraph
- Nazia Shaheen, head of IT governance and security, Volkswagen Group UK Limited
- Nicola Gleeson, managing director of architecture, JP Morgan Chase
- Sandra Stanley, chief data science officer, dunnhumby
- Vidya Laxman, director of Tesco Technology, Tesco Bengaluru Private Limited
Male Agent of Change Award – sponsored by Centrica
- Arjan VanDerMeer, vice president, American Express
- Ashar Khan, chief data officer, SSE
- Barry Pettitt, executive – finance operations EME, Avanade
- Shashii Asnani, managing director, UK health & social care lead, Accenture
- Warren Thomas, client services director, Serco Ltd
One to Watch Award – sponsored by Computacenter
- Arthi Saravanan, student at ACS Hillingdon International School
- Evie-Rae Donald, student at St John Fisher Catholic High School
- Joey Lin, student at The Maynard School
Rising Star Award – sponsored by Booking.com
- Anna Rothberg, pricing and hedging analyst, British Gas
- Frances Hagen, senior product owner Net-Zero serve, Centrica
- Jemima Abu, frontend developer, WeMakeWebsites
- Joyce Kadibu, junior software engineer, Imperial College London
- Li Fu, data scientist, Lloyds Banking Group
Software Engineer Award – sponsored by NatWest
- Anna Wilde, senior engineer, American Express
- Annem Shah, cloud platform engineer, Charlotte Tilbury Beauty
- Gangadevi Bankaur, head of software development, Tesco
- Grace Day, graduate software engineer, Capital One UK
- Harshitha Shivakumar, senior technical consultant, IBM
- Joanna Kelly, principal software engineer, Leonardo Electronics
- Malini Jeyachandran, lead software engineer, Lloyds Banking Group
Team Leader Award – sponsored by Haleon
- Caitlin McCall, senior research engineer, The Manufacturing Technology Centre
- Jessica Birch, senior business analyst, Royal Mail
- Karyn Crouse, operational technology manager, SSE Plc
- Leila Shepherd, managing director, Helix Centre
- Maddie Clingan, principal agile coach & agile people manager, ControlPlane
- Megan Rook, tech lead, NatWest Group
- Monika Galla, Salesforce manager, Telegraph Media Group
- Tatiana Elek, senior procurement manager digital, Jaguar Land Rover
Tech for Good Award – sponsored by RS Group
- Akua Opong, senior EUC engineer, London Stock Exchange Group
- Emma Pickering, head of technology – facilitated abuse and economic empowerment, Refuge
- Linnea Soler, senior lecturer in chemistry, University of Glasgow
- Manjul Rathee, CEO & founder, BFB Labs
- Rhiana Spring, CEO & founder, Spring ACT – Action. Compassion. Technology
- Stephanie Wand, head of technology strategy, Bupa
- Sue Black, professor of computer science and technology evangelist, Durham University