Huge congratulations to everyone involved.

The first annual Women in Tech Awards - a celebration of women and diversity in the technology industry - took place at the RDS in Dublin last night. Hosted by Dr Pixie McKenna, the strong sense of community and belonging among the guests was obvious to all and the inaugural event was truly inspiring. Speaking of the event, DTS CEO Will Brightling said:

“To show our commitment in combating inequality, we wanted to create an event that would drive diversity and narrow the gender gap in an industry which offers success and opportunity to anyone with ambition, passion, and strong work ethic. "We hope that the awards will not only recognise the influential presence and promote the successes of women in the tech industry, but will also stimulate further dialogue around equality in the sector, and coupled with other global diversity initiatives, may even inspire the millions of female tech enthusiasts around the world to become leaders in their own right.”

One of the biggest comments from the judges was how the bar had been set so high by everyone who had been shortlisted - and how it was a difficult task to pick the winners. As for who ultimately took home the big awards? Here is the full list of the winners. [caption id="attachment_437600" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Women In Tech Awards 2018[/caption]

Entrepreneur Award

Mary O’Brien – VideoDoc

Data Scientist Award

Jaine Blayney – Queens University Belfast

Trailblazer Award

Furkan Karayel – Diversein

Digital Transformation Award

Grainne Bryan – McCann Fitzgerald

Blockchain Leader Award

Niamh O’Connell – ConsenSys

Fintech Leader

Ruth Fletcher – Currency Fair

IT Business Leader

Myra O’Neill – Vodafone

Rising Star

Talita Holzer – WaytoB

Security Leader

Orlagh Lynch – Globoforce

Disruptor Award

Medb Corcoran – Accenture

Mentorship Award

Michelle Cullen – Accenture