Booking.com reveals Technology Playmaker finalists

Scheme aims to celebrate and recognise women on the European tech sector who have disrupted and are transforming businesses, industries, and communities through the use of technology Continue reading →

Finalists for the first Booking.com Technology Playmaker Awards have been revealed.

The scheme aims to celebrate and recognise women on the European tech sector who have disrupted and are transforming businesses, industries, and communities through the use of technology.

Finalists come from Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Romania, Spain and the UK.

The awards include nine categories which are intended to recognise women’s technology contributions in multiple areas including entrepreneurship, innovation, community impact, sustainability and leadership among others.

Nine winners will be announced along with a tenth award for the overall Technology Playmaker of the Year 2018, at a dinner in London on March 8 to coincide with International Women’s Day.

Zuckerberg Media founder and chief executive Randi Zuckerberg – sister of Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg – is due to deliver the keynote speech during the event.

Winners will be selected by a panel of senior executives spanning a range of global tech companies and successful start-ups including Booking.com, Skyscanner, Just Eat, Happn, WeTransfer and SwiftKey as well as representatives from the academic world, the European Parliament and a leading global business media title.

Each category winner will receive a prize of €5,000. The overall Technology Playmaker of the Year will also receive €10,000.

Booking.com chief executive Gillian Tans said, “The Technology Playmaker Awards celebrate diversity and gender equality and aim to empower and encourage more women to enter and succeed in the technology industry, regardless of their background.

“We recently conducted research to better understand gender bias in the tech sector and nearly 90% of the female respondents told us that seeing more women in leadership roles would inspire them to advance their career in tech.

“We hope, therefore, that our winners and shortlisters will become role models to other women and girls in the future.

“We’ve had applicants from diverse backgrounds across different stages of their careers.

“From young entrepreneurs who have set up digital programmes to assist refugee integration, to technology innovators who are disrupting healthcare and e-learning, to an 11-year-old girl who is teaching her peers to code.

“We are excited about celebrating their success and encouraging our finalists as they continue to innovate and lead in the technology space.”