The nominations for the 4th annual Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards, sponsored by BT and ThinkCyber and hosted by Eskenzi PR, have opened. The event, to be held on the 27th February 2024 at the BT Tower in London, will honour the 25 most inspiring women in the cybersecurity industry. The awards are also supported by media partners Assured Intelligence, Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) UK & Ireland Affiliate and the IT Security Guru.
In its fourth year, the awards are an opportunity to shed light on some of the remarkable women working within the cybersecurity industry, especially those who are paving the way for other women and girls considering a career in the field. The UK Government estimates that, in 2023, women made up only 17% of the cyber sector workforce in the UK, with, additionally, only 14% of senior roles in the industry were filled by women. It’s evidently important for wellbeing, retention and career longevity, that women in cyber roles have forums where they can network and support one another.
The Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards aims to bring together and empower incredible women (both established and those starting out their careers) and make long lasting connections.
Nominations can be submitted via this link and will remain open until 5pm on 31st January 2024. An esteemed panel of judges will then review the submissions and narrow the list down to the Top 20, each of whom will be profiled on the IT Security Guru. There will also be five women crowned ‘ones to watch’. This year’s judging panel includes:
- Eleanor Dallaway, Co-Founder of Assured Intelligence
- Yvonne Eskenzi, Co-Founder of Eskenzi PR
- Professor Alison Wakefield, Professor of Criminology and Security Studies, University of West London
- Lorna Armitage, COO and Co-Founder of CAPSLOCK
- Chani Simms, SHe CISO Exec. Founder and MD of Meta Defence Labs
- Aurorah Cheney, Security Strategy & Growth Director at BT
- Kate Wendelboe, Security Strategy & Growth Director at BT
- Jenny Radcliffe, Author and ‘People Hacker’
- Stephanie Itimi, Founder and CEO of Seidea
This year, we have introduced a special category: The Paula Brici Cyber Marketeer of the Year Award. This category aims to celebrate the incredible women of in-house cybersecurity marketing teams. A special form for entry can be found here.
On the 27th February 2024, a physical awards ceremony will be held in London at the iconic BT Tower. The event will include a welcome address and an informal panel discussion with a Q&A featuring industry leaders. Then, the finalists will be awarded their certificates and trophies. The event will conclude with networking over food and drinks at the top of the tower. Finalists, judges, and guests are welcome to attend in person and the public can tune in to the ceremony via a live stream. More information to be provided soon.
Tim Ward, CEO of ThinkCyber, who are sponsoring this year’s award, says: “At ThinkCyber we have the pleasure of seeing first hand, in the more people centric side of cyber, the significant value of diversity in the industry. So we’d already found ways to support WiCys in their great work. And now I’m genuinely excited to be part of this hugely important event celebrating women in cyber. The event both creates a high profile forum for women in cyber and their allies to come together and network. But even more importantly it offers us a chance to recognise and celebrate some incredible people and their inspiring achievements.”
The event’s founder, Yvonne Eskenzi, said: “We are honoured to be running this esteemed event again – and at The BT Tower no less! It is crucial to bring together women at all stages of their careers because we simply cannot be what we cannot see, especially as cybersecurity is often viewed as an impenetrable ‘boys club’. The Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards, alongside some of the most respected industry women’s networks, aims to empower and uplift women in the industry and forge long-lasting connections between attendees.”
Eleanor Dallaway, Co-Founder of Assured Intelligence, said: “I’m so excited to be a judge for the most inspiring women in cyber awards. Increasing diversity in cybersecurity is something I’ve been passionate about for years, so throw in a fun evening out with some of the most impressive and dedicated women in the space, what’s not to love? I can’t wait to honour and celebrate the deserving people in our industry. Bring it on!”
Nominations for the awards are now open and the public is invited to put themselves or a colleague forward. Entries are open worldwide. Nominations close on 31st January 2024. For more information and to nominate visit: https://www.itsecurityguru.org/most-inspiring-women-cyber-2024/
