Financial services reign at Scotland Women in Technology Awards

The Scotland Women in Technology (SWiT) awards has recognised individuals and organisations from the financial services sector as winners in four of the 10 categories, with JP Morgan’s managing director for capital management technology Gillian McLennan taking home Leader of the Year.

Other big winners from the financial services sector included M&G, which was named as Large Employer of the Year, while M&G data scientist Debbie Kerr was recognised as Technology Rising Star.

Elsewhere, Lauren Lawson, a software engineer at Leidos, won the award for Young Tech Champion of the Year, and Effini’s chief operating officer Sam Rhynas was recognised as Inspirational Woman of the Year.

Silka Patel, founder and chair of Scotland Women in Technology, said: “Championing and celebrating women in what remains a male dominated sector remains of the utmost importance.

“It is vital that female newcomers to the technology sector have visibility of peers who are similar to them, who can inspire them to accomplish all they can in this fast-paced and innovative tech world.

“Tonight’s winners epitomise the best of the best in Scotland’s technology sector and I know each of the judges found it incredibly hard to select winners in each of the categories.”

Innovation Minister Richard Lochhead, who attended the awards and gave a keynote, said: “These awards represent a celebration of our collective commitment to supporting inspirational women in the ever-evolving world of technology.

“The Scottish Government is deeply committed to addressing the technology gender gap, advocating for diversity and inclusion and supporting the remarkable women who continue to shatter glass ceilings and set new benchmarks.”

The full list of category winners:

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