CATEGORY DETAILS 2026
Entrants may enter more than one if that category is relevant to them but must have a bespoke entry for each category.
You should look to include the following in your entry:
A company overview
Why gender balance is so important to your organisation?
How you have implemented change?
How you measure results?
What your employees say.
What sets you apart from other companies?
Plus… make sure you cover the specific criteria listed in your selected category.
1. Outstanding Employer for Benefits & Wellbeing
Do you contribute to childcare vouchers? Boast an excellent pension scheme? Or offer private medical insurance? Or flexible working and a range of all-round benefits. This award is for employers whose employee benefits inspire wellbeing and impressive staff retention levels.
2. BEST EMPLOYER FOR PARENTAL SUPPORT
This award is for the employer who has an exceptional parental support system in place. Please provide information on how you support parents within your business, for example how many paid weeks of maternity/paternity leave you offer, whether you assist employees with childcare solutions or flexibility for working parents.
3. Leading Employer for Training
This award is for employers whose commitment to employee’s professional development is evident through the training programmes they offer. You’ll need to demonstrate how your training programme/s help women in tech to upskill, in order to support their career progression.
4. BEST EMPLOYER NETWORK
Do you run an impressive women’s network that has established a solid support system for the women in your business? This award celebrates the opportunities and empowerment created by the structure of a women’s network. Please provide examples of how your women’s network empowers, supports, and helps women to develop their professional and/or personal skills.
5. Outstanding Mentorship Programme
Does your organisation run a fantastic mentorship programme that enables women to share skills and advice? This award celebrates mentorship programmes that are set up to enable women to help other women with their professional development. Nominees will be judged on the ways they commit time and resource to their mentors and mentees.
6. Leading Training Provider or Academy
Training providers and academies play an increasingly important role in giving skills and confidence to women in technology - starting out, returning to work, re-training or upskilling. Do you supply a training solution to employers or directly to candidates which supports diversity initiatives, strategies or processes? Does your training service focus on attracting women in tech? or provide support to help them achieve? This award recognises the suppliers going above and beyond to deliver training to help reduce the gender gap. Please share examples, activity and any results that are applicable.
7. Outstanding Recruitment Agency
Are you the best recruitment agency helping to get more women into tech roles? This award is for recruitment agencies going above and beyond to help their clients place more females into tech roles. You should be able to demonstrate examples of both candidate and client satisfaction and your activity to promote Women in Tech.
8. BEST GRADUATE OR EARLY CAREERS EMPLOYER
This award recognises employers who go above and beyond to open doors for female STEM graduates or school leavers and provide them with the opportunity to kick-start their tech careers at your organisation. To enter you’ll need to demonstrate how you attract applicants, as well as how many female STEM graduates or school leavers you have employed in the past 18 months.
9. OUTSTANDING ADVOCATE FOR WOMEN IN TECH - MALE ALLY
Awarded to an individual, this award recognises a male ally who is an advocate for women in tech and has shown solidarity and understanding. This person is an ally for gender diversity in tech and works hard to raise awareness in the tech industry. You should be able to demonstrate what you have done to educate, inspire and support women working in tech – for example supporting networks, mentorship, inspiring others, promotion of ED&I etc.
10. OUTSTANDING ADVOCATE FOR WOMEN IN TECH
Awarded to an individual, this award recognises an influential person who is an advocate for women in tech. This person is an ally for gender diversity in tech and works hard to raise awareness in the tech industry. You should be able to demonstrate what you have done to educate, inspire and support women working in tech – for example running webinars, gender diversity talks, promotion on social media, involved with women in tech activities etc.
11. Business Leader of the Year
Awarded to an individual that is a conscious and fearless innovator that inspires others that are peers or staff. Nominees for this award will have demonstrated exceptional leadership, vision, and commitment to excellence.
12. OUTSTANDING wOMAN IN TECH
Awarded to an individual, this award recognises an influential woman working in tech who is inspiring to her colleagues and team, and is a role model to other women in tech. You should be able to demonstrate what you have done to educate, inspire and support other women working in tech – for example creating female-focused network groups, training and mentoring. We would recommend including testimonials and any supporting letters/evidence.
13. BEST PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYER
This award recognises public sector employers that attract and retain female tech talent into their Technology departments. You must be able to demonstrate your commitment to a successful diversity initiative that has increased female representation in tech.
14. BEST SMALL BUSINESS EMPLOYER (UP TO 50 EMPLOYEES)
This award gives recognition to businesses with up to 50 employees that are making a great effort in attracting and retaining women in Technology roles. You must be able to demonstrate examples of case studies on women in tech in your business.
15. BEST EMPLOYER (51 - 250 EMPLOYEES)
This award recognises employers with 51-250 employees who have demonstrated an outstanding effort over the past 18 months to attract and retain women in their Technology departments.
16. BEST EMPLOYER (251-1,000 EMPLOYEES)
This award recognises employers with 251-1,000 employees who have demonstrated an outstanding effort over the past 18 months to attract and retain women in their Technology departments.
17. BEST EMPLOYER (OVER 1,000 EMPLOYEES)
This award recognises employers with over 1,000+ employees who have demonstrated an outstanding effort over the past 18 months to attract and retain women in their Technology departments.
18. Outstanding Initiative of the Year
The winner of this award will have delivered set objectives that have delivered results within ED&I. Examples could be encouraging sustainability, health and wellbeing, equality and diversity.
19. ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARD
This award recognises woman who have achieved the biggest successes and achievements in their business. Demonstrating excellence in areas such as innovation and personal commitment to their businesses that have inspired and will inspire women in technology.
20. BEST IN-HOUSE RECRUITER
This award recognises the individual for whom the sky is the limit in terms of their drive to inspire women to succeed in the sector. It celebrates the individual who has a true passion for women in technology, is contributing to closing the gender gap by placing women in tech roles, and who is continually helping encourage women in the workplace.
21. Outstanding Returnship Programme
Do you have a returnship programme aimed at supporting women back into technology careers following a break? This award is for employers who have a returnship programme that focuses on helping returners build their technology skills and evidence of success of getting back into the workplace.
22. Best Supplier
Do you supply an innovative solution to employers which supports their diversity initiatives, strategies or processes? Does your product or service help employers support women within their organisations or help them attract women to their organisation? This award recognises the suppliers going above and beyond to deliver innovative solutions to tech employers and women in technology.
23. Rising Star
This award recognises an influential woman who has worked in tech for under 5 years and is already helping to redefine excellence in tech. You should be able to demonstrate how you are adding value to your organisation, driving change, making a significant impact and excelling in your role while championing the progress of your female peers. Additionally, that you are an influencer or contributing to the broader women in tech industry.
24. Technology Leader of the Year
Awarded to an individual that is a CTO, CIO or Technology Leader inspiring their staff and the culture of their team. Nominees for this award will have demonstrated exceptional leadership, vision, and commitment to excellence. And a passion for promoting diversity within their tech team, providing an inclusive culture that empowers staff.
25. Best use of AI to support Women in Tech
Are you or your company using AI to create unconscious bias? To help you recruit? Or in a product or service you have developed? This award goes to a company or an individual who has been using AI as a tool to reduce the gender gap in tech.
26. Not for Profit / Social Impact initiative
This is an award for a not for profit or for a company demonstrating social impact to help promote women in tech – whether it is encouraging and supporting in the early stages of a career. Or whether they are supporting women in tech during their career. This could be via training, education, mentorships or career and life support. This category is purposely broad to help recognise a broad range of charities or companies supporting the progress of women in technology.
If you believe you are making moves to address the gender balance but you don’t quite fit into these categories, do get in touch.
Please ensure you have read the T&C’s before entry and note that we reserve the right to change entry criteria at any point if we feel it is necessary to improve the category. We also reserve the right to remove a category at any point should there not be enough entries or for any other reason.