The Women in Tech Excellence Awards return in November

The Women in Tech Awards celebrate all steps on the career ladder: from rising stars to outstanding returners

The challenge of increasing diversity in IT is now firmly on the agenda in boardrooms across the UK, but the challenge is far from solved. Women are still under-represented across the industry, especially at higher echelons, and they're also likely to be paid less than their male counterparts for the same work.

The issue extends right through the career, starting in schools - where institutions report little-to-no growth in the numbers of females taking STEM subjects. More needs to be done to encourage the female IT leaders of tomorrow.

The Women in Tech Awards - formerly the Women in IT Awards - are designed to help move us as an industry towards a solution, by recognising and promoting the many talented women, and other success stories, in the trade. There should be no barriers for anyone coming into IT, be they women, men or anyone else. As IT professionals, it is all of our jobs to promote that message.

Now in its fifth year, we have taken the decision to rename the Awards to tie them more closely to our hugely successful Women in Tech Festival, which last year brought hundreds of people together to discuss diversity, celebrate success and network with the best and brightest minds in the industry.

The Women in Tech Awards have already celebrated the achievements of over 800 women, in front of more than 1,700 people. And we don't just shout about this success at the event itself: we also publish videos, galleries and articles from the event on Computing, to ensure that hundreds of thousands of people can see the talent that's out there for themselves.

So make sure to enter now - whether you are a women in IT who wants to shout about your success, or you know someone who deserves to be recognised. Nominations are open until Friday 1st May, and there is a category for everyone: from rising stars to outstanding returners.

Women in Tech 2020 categories