By Business & Finance 
Pictured: Winners of 2022 Diversity in Tech Awards in partnership with JP Morgan
Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (D,E&I) leaders gathered in the RDS Concert Hall, Dublin, on September 21st, 2022, for the annual Diversity in Tech Awards, in partnership with JP Morgan.
The Diversity in Tech Awards returned to an in-person ceremony for the first time in three years to celebrate the best examples of diversity, equality and inclusion in the tech community. The Awards shine a light on organisations striving to create a more diverse & inclusive workplace. The event, which started out as the Women in Tech Awards, has grown into a programme celebrating all facets of diversity within the tech industry, includes 17 awards celebrating the industry’s achievements in this field. In recognising the broad efforts of promoting diversity in the workplace, the awards have been split into two category areas; Diversity in Tech and Women in Tech.
Ceremony
The awards celebrated some of Ireland’s most influential leaders in the technology industry. The winners were decided by an esteemed judging panel who rewarded the best in class under sixteen categories and one outstanding female STEM professional was awarded the Grace Hopper Award. This celebrates a female whose exceptional achievements and outstanding contributions have made a lasting impact on technology, society and their profession.
The judging panel included noted influential technology leaders such as Maurizina Da Silva, Head of the Business Growth Programme at London & Partners; Siobhan Sweeney, Global Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Leader; Gearoid Kearney, MD & Co-Founder of MyAccessHub and Sheree Atcheson, Group Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion at Valtech amongst others.
Panel Discussion
There was a panel discussion, moderated by Business & Finance Deputy Editor, David Monaghan, featuring Mary Garvey – J.P. Morgan, Sandra Healy – Inclusio, Melissa Bosch – EY Ireland, and Siobhan Sweeney – HubSpot exploring the theme, “The Future of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion”.
Garvey said it was necessary to educate yourself; “Find out what it means to be different, what it means to not understand colloquialisms and to say something wrong.”
Bosch urged the audience to; “Be a disruptive voice. Be committed to the process. You need to use the kill switch when you are in situations where you find yourself being biased.”
Pictured (from l-r): Mary Garvey, J.P. Morgan; Sandra Healy, Inclusio; Siobhan Sweeney, HubSpot; Melissa Bosch, EY Ireland and Business & Finance Deputy Editor David Monaghan
Winners
Dublin based company, Cognizant, was the first winner of the night, taking home the Diverse Company Of The Year award, sponsored by Oracle.
Diversity Role Model Award, sponsored by Verizon, was won by Carmel Owens of Sidero.
LGBTQ+ Inclusion Award was awarded to Oracle. The award was sponsored by Legato.
Kildare based company Access Earth were the winners of the Social Impact Award, sponsored by EPAM Systems.
The Disability Inclusion Award, sponsored by Onclusive, was awarded to Fiserv.
The UCD Smurfit-sponsored Cultural Inclusion Award was won by Dublin-based company, eBay.
Axonista took home the Health & Wellness Award, sponsored by UNICEF.
Dr Mary Coghlan of EY was the winner of the Tech Leader Award, sponsored by FTI Consulting.
The Entrepreneur Award, sponsored by Fiserv, was awarded to Ellen Gunning of Mettacomms, the company she founded to solve the problem of PR professionals were drowning in data. Mettacomms provides data-driven analytics and insights into thought leaders, hot-button topics, influencers and future trends.
Rena Maycock of Cilter Technologies was awarded the Trailblazer Award, sponsored by Permanent TSB. Rena’s mission is to develop software that will protect children from cyberbullying and grooming which disproportionately affects young girls.
The Rising Star Award, sponsored by LEO Dublin, was presented to Alma Tarfa of Workhuman for her work and strength of purpose in her Voices in the Shadow project.
The Digital Transformation Award, sponsored by Search Talent, was awarded to Nitheen Kaperi Sanyal of Merck for her incredible leadership and involvement in the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association, Dublin Chapter, which led to a role as Chair of the Ireland Executive Committee. There, she leads a team who are developing a workbook for the Pharma/Medical Device industry for the introduction of the Gender Equality Plan in Ireland. She is also currently the Head of Digitalisation and Strategy at Merck Arklow.
The Mentorship Award, sponsored by CWIT, went to Alison Treacy of Tangent, Trinity’s Ideas Workspace. Her clear and structured approach to mentoring has had a great impact on diversity in funding. Tangent aims to bridge the gap between the university and the wider start-up ecosystem. Its mission is to organize a number of activities that contribute to delivering economic, cultural, and social value through innovation and entrepreneurship.
The Young Female STEM Pioneer, sponsored by Dublin Tech Summit, was awarded to Uditi Sharma of Elevate Tech who is based in the United Arab Emirates. Uditi’s steadfast determination to change the face of tech is encouraging more young girls to join STEM and ensure that no young girl is left behind due to a lack of opportunities or financial burdens.
The Data Scientist Award, sponsored by JP Morgan, was awarded to Yen Phan of CodLad in Dublin. She has demonstrated skill and commitment to her area of expertise for over a decade. As a young academic supervisor, she is continuously sharing her expertise with students and has also became part of the team from Technological University Dublin (TUD) delivering skilling programs to unemployed graduates under the Government Springboard Initiative.
The Grace Hopper Award
The Grace Hopper Award, sponsored by AWS in Communities, was awarded to Dr Nora Khaldi of Nuritas in Dublin. Nora is a mathematician with a PhD in Molecular Evolution and Bioinformatics. Nora’s research has focused primarily on protein evolution and comparative genomics. Throughout her career, Nora’s ambition has been to disrupt the status quo in areas that have been void of technology by introducing new ways of thinking, big data, and new algorithms.
Dr. Khaldi said that diversity was at the core of how she grew up: “I was born in Africa to an Irish mother and a Pied-Noir…Early on, I decided that I wanted to improve human health.”
Dr. Nora Khaldi, CEO Nuritas and winner of the Grace Hopper Award, sponsored by AWS in Communities
The Impact Award
The Impact Award, sponsored by Tata Consultancy Services, was awarded to The Open Doors Initiative in Dublin. The Open Doors Initiative provides opportunities for marginalised members of our community. They create pathways to work through training, education, employment and entrepreneurship. They work closely with refugees, migrants, people with disabilities and disadvantaged youth, those from a Traveller background, LGBTIQ+, people with a criminal past and any intersectionality between these groups.
Jeanne McDonagh, CEO of the Open Doors Initiative spoke about the impact of their work: “I’d like to recognise the 58,000 people we’ve worked with since we began. We take an equitable and holistic view of those who come to our door.”
She introduced Barialai Khoshhal, an Afghan refugee living in Ireland since 2021 who has been working with the initiative. Khoshhal has an Artist Residency at Photo Museum Ireland, supported by the Open Doors Initiative. He is also currently completing an internship at Wilson Hartnell.
Pictured: Barialai Khoshhal and Jeanne McDonagh, CEO of the Open Doors Initiative
Speaking at yesterday evening’s ceremony in the RDS Concert Hall, Dublin, Tracey Carney, Managing Director, DITA Awards, said it was important to continue making progress:
“Our mission is to continue to shift the narrative – by shining a light on what needs to be done. Tonight’s awards highlight the importance of diversity, focus attention on equity in the workplace and also continue to recognise the achievements of women working to drive innovation, leadership and success in the tech industry – while things have gotten better we are not there yet.”
