Digital entrepreneur, Lopa Patel MBE was named the Tech Women 100 2021 Champion of the Year on 15th November 2021 by WeAreTechWomen, powered by Goldman Sachs. She was selected from over 1000 nominations, shortlisted down to 200 nominations by a panel of expert judges, and chosen as the winner for being an inspirational leader and successful digital entrepreneur; the founder of two online media businesses and a data-driven marketing consultancy. Lopa was also recognised for championing under-represented founders, especially women, by curating the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech List that has seen female representation grow from 21% in 2015 to 52% in 2021; by organising tech showcases highlighting ethnic women start-up founders and for supporting digital transformation at public sector bodies where she is a Non-Executive Director. Her equality, diversity and inclusion work is also ongoing, as demonstrated by the foundation and helmsmanship of equality charity, Diversity UK.
On accepting the award, Lopa Patel, digital entrepreneur and Chair of Diversity UK said, “I feel so privileged and honoured to be named TechWomen100 2021 Champion. I am in awe of fellow nominees Isobel Anderson and Tommie Edwards and of awards founder Vanessa Vallely who has achieved so much for women through the WeAreTheCity and WeAreTechWomen initiatives. A lot of people wonder why women, who make up more than half the population, should need such support – well the dismal 17% representation in the sector tells you exactly why. Technology is a game changer and everyone should be able to play their part and feel included in the sector. I couldn’t be happier to see the range of industries and passions of the TechWomen100 nominees and I commend them all for paying it forward in inspiring the next generation of women and girls behind them”.
The winners of these awards showcase remarkable women within the technology and STEM sector including Manisha Ganguly, who is a multi-award-winning independent conflict journalist & filmmaker using open-source techniques to investigate human rights abuses under conditions of war; Alice Hendy, who founded the app, R;pple Suicide Prevention, after the tragic loss of her brother, Josh, in 2020; Priyanka Mittal, who led the Cloud-based architecture of two national programmes at NHS Digital, which have been the backbone of the government’s response to COVID-19; and Krystina Pearson-Rampeearee, a Senior Flight Systems Engineer, working on a next generation fast jet, the Tempest project.
The winners include individuals from leading firms such as Ford Motor Company, Microsoft, The British Army, NHS Digital, BT, Transport for London, Vodafone, BBC World Service, Google, Mastercard, London Stock Exchange and many more.
The awards also recognise Champions, Networks and Companies, who are all actively supporting the progression of women in tech and STEM. Once again, the TechWomen100 Awards are also celebrating women in tech from outside the UK, in the Global Award for Achievement category. These winners, in addition to the TechWomen100 list, are:
Champion
• Dr Lopa Patel MBE, Diversity UK
Global Award for Achievement
• Nadini Sahabandu, Mitra Innovation
Company
• HSBC
Network
• Rise, created by Barclays
Editor’s Choice
• Rob McCargow, PwC
Since August 2021, WeAreTechWomen has been searching the UK for the best female tech talent in the country. The TechWomen100 awards are the first of their kind to focus solely on the female tech talent pipeline and to also recognise the impact of champions, companies and networks that are leading the way for future generations of tech talent. This year’s winners join an alumnus of 350 winners from 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Highlighting the achievements of these women is part of WeAreTechWomen’s campaign to shine a spotlight on 1,000 future female leaders in technology by 2025.
Vanessa Vallely OBE, Founder of WeAreTechWomen, said, “At WeAreTechWomen we have made it our personal mission to shine a spotlight on women working in tech. Our strategic aim is to highlight 1,000 female future leaders in technology by 2025. The response to this year’s awards has been fantastic and the calibre of entries has been outstanding! I am so proud to see so many women in tech recognised for their achievements and look forward to celebrating our winners and their achievements.”
Orla Dunne, Partner – Head of Core Engineering in EMEA, Goldman Sachs, said, “Goldman Sachs is delighted to sponsor the TechWomen100 Awards in celebration of women making a huge impact on the technology industry. As a firm, we are fully committed to developing and supporting talented individuals, advancing gender equality, and increasing diverse representation at every level. As we strive for excellence, a diverse workforce best positions us to serve our clients, as well as the communities in which we operate. Awards such as this are a pivotal instrument for change, recognising our industry’s future leaders, and creating role models to inspire new talent into technology.”
In today’s tech industry only 17 per cent are women. The tech sector needs more women studying, working, and sticking with tech skills to ensure that there is enough talent for the future. In 2017, women made up 24 per cent of those working in core STEM industries in the UK. Within the younger generation only one in 10 females are currently taking A-Level computer studies. This needs to change!
The awards were entered by over 1,000 nominations from across the UK and Ireland and nominees received over 35,000 votes of support from across the globe. The calibre of entries for these awards was exceptional and all the judges stated how difficult it was to arrive at a final list, due to the amazing achievements of our nominees.
Click here for the full list of winners in alphabetical order.
The 2021 awards are kindly powered by Goldman Sachs and sponsored by Accenture, BAE Systems, Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Ipsos Mori, Oliver Wyman, and OpenFin.
About WeAreTheCity
WeAreTheCity.com is a free, centralised hub for women who want to progress in their careers, enhance their skills and build their external networks.
Through the website, we provide:
• Career related content to inspire and motivate our members (+10,000 articles)
• Connections to 350 female networks who support women in their personal/professional progression
• A calendar of female-orientated events where our members can enhance their networks and grow their skills
• The latest knowledge and information on women in the workplace e.g. research reports, business schools, female development programs & returnships
• WeAreTechWomen, a dedicated section for female technologists featuring industry events, news, networks, conferences and awards
• Features on key charities, social enterprises & schools where our members can give back to their local communities
• Visibility of jobs via WeAreTheCity Jobs from firms seeking to improve their gender balance
• The opportunity to enter our annual awards, Rising Star Awards and TechWomen100
• The opportunity to attend our conferences, WeAreFutureLeaders
WeAreTheCity in numbers:
• Founded in 2008
• 120,000 members (15k Women in Technology)
• 10,000+ career related articles
• Promotion of over 350 women’s networks
• Access to 50,000 women through our social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn)
• 85+ events run/co-partnered
For further information visit https://wearethecity.com/
About WeAreTechWomen
WeAreTechWomen launched in 2015 is WeAreTheCity’s dedicated area for our community of female technologists. This dedicated microsite provides our WeAreTheCity technology members with access to news, tips and advice for women working in IT, in addition to profiles, features, guides and case studies on how technology is helping women to further their careers.
WeAreTechWomen was launched to showcase women in the industry and to raise awareness of the gender divide and skills shortage that are still affecting the tech sector. Opportunities for corporates to engage with this community include featuring their roles on WeAreTheCity Jobs, advertising opportunities or sponsorship of our annual tech conference/events/awards.
WeAreTechWomen hold a large annual conference every year. This conference is designed and built using feedback from a series of focus groups with WeAreTechWomen members. We also work with a number of corporate sponsors who provide funding for these events. Our tech conference is aimed at upskilling the female tech pipeline and is technical by nature. No stats, and no labouring about the lack of women in tech, we focus on skills for progression. We provide our attendees with the opportunity to learn about emerging technology trends, such as fintech, digital, big data, IoT, coding and other industry topics.
Our attendees also hear from leading experts in their fields, contribute by way of discussion and choose sets of elective sessions that will add value to their career path. At WeAreTechWomen, helping others is at the heart of everything we do, and we donate a number of our tickets to individuals who are not currently in employment/students and to female tech returners.
We also offer the ability for corporates to partner with WeAreTechWomen for editorial campaigns and talent attraction events. There are also opportunities available to host and sponsor our annual conference and our TechWomen100 awards.
For further information visit https://wearetechwomen.com/