Recognising female excellence in SA's tech industry.

The Wired4Women Tech Forum has partnered with ITWeb Brainstorm to launch its awards programme, aimed at recognising female excellence in the South African tech industry.

Established three years ago with the aim to redress the gender imbalance in the tech industry, the Wired4Women Tech Forum has taken significant steps in growing a community of women, connecting them and providing guidance, mentorship and training opportunities.

The forum’s board has decided to take the initiative to the next level with the launch of the Wired4Women Awards, a comprehensive awards programme that will showcase the diverse impact of women across the IT field – from CIOs to tech company leaders, entrepreneurs, rising stars and students.

Nomonde White-Ndlovu, CIO of Bidvest Bank and chair of Wired4Women, says: “The technology sector remains one of the most impactful industries in the world because it changes lives for the better – technological advances have improved education, accelerated economic development and impacted the health sector through the use of robotics. There are many women who are charting new frontiers in this space and it remains important to ensure we improve and nurture female representation within the technology sector.”

White-Ndlovu says the Wired4Women Awards serve as a platform to celebrate female excellence and inspire future generations. “We want our daughters to grow up in a world where they can be whoever they want to be, but you can’t be what you can’t see. They need the role models to aspire to and these awards aim to showcase these role models.”

Award categories and selection criteria

The inaugural Wired4Women Awards feature 11 categories designed to acknowledge leadership, entrepreneurship, innovation, community impact and talent:

• Leader of the Year (CIO, CTO, CISO)
• Tech Entrepreneur
• Top Tech Innovator
• Tech for Good
• IT Business Development Executive
• Rising Star in Security
• Rising Star in Cloud
• Rising Star in Emerging Technologies
• Top Tech Student
• Mentor of the Year
• Trailblazer

The judging panel, including Wired4Women board members, ITWeb senior editors and other senior industry representatives, will determine the winners. The inaugural awards ceremony will take place at a gala event in Sandton on 22 May (time and venue to be announced).

Join us in celebrating female leadership and talent in our industry. Review the awards criteria and submit your nominations today.

Nominations close at COB on 18 March.