Channel Asia unveils record-breaking number of finalists for new-look Women in ICT Awards

Representing the entire ASEAN ecosystem, 160 finalists make the shortlist from a pool of more than 65 organisations and over 220 nominations, spanning partner, vendor and distributor businesses #WIICTA

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Channel Asia is proud to announce the finalists of the new-look Women in ICT Awards (WIICTA), housing a record-breaking number of submissions in what will be the largest celebration of female excellence within the technology channel across Southeast Asia.

Representing the entire ASEAN ecosystem, 160 finalists (150 individuals and 10 companies) make the shortlist from a pool of more than 65 organisations and over 220 nominations, spanning partner, vendor and distributor businesses.

This marks a significant expansion in reach, support and market appeal, out-pacing a best effort of over 90 finalists in 2020 to position WIICTA as the leading technology awards program for gender diversity and inclusion (D&I) in the Southeast Asian channel.

Reflective of a diverse technology network - and a thriving channel community - over 25 partner companies are in the spotlight, in addition to more than 30 vendors and four distributors.

Specific to partners, candidates range from large-scale consultancy giants and global system integrators (GSIs) to emerging and established start-ups in Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila and Singapore, alongside leading managed service providers, born-in-the-cloud players, specialist solution consultants and boutique digital agencies.

Aligned to the Channel Asia approach of representing established and emerging partners in equal measure, this was the year that WIICTA went mainstream in the local channel.

Within this standout group of finalists, female leaders are located across the entire region, spanning Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

All career stages are in the spotlight from graduate-level entrants to well-established CEOs, in addition to inspiring entrepreneurs, creative thinkers and technical experts, as well as talent rising through the ranks and consistent high-performing individuals. This is also supported by both individual and company champions of D&I initiatives.

Collectively, WIICTA in 2021 stands tall as the leading forum for setting the industry benchmark for female achievement across Southeast Asia.

“WIICTA has made significant progress - even in its infancy - to drive the gender D&I conversation further in technology across ASEAN,” said Cherry Yumul, vice president of Strategic Partnerships and Innovation at IDG. “The aim of this program is to recognise female achievement in delivering outstanding business results and we congratulate all finalists on meeting this core objective.”

Shaped by the feedback of more than 50 leading female technology executives, WIICTA - now in its third year of running - will honour the channel across eight categories, spanning Innovation, Technical, Entrepreneur, Graduate, Rising Star, Shining Star, Achievement and D&I Champion (Company and Individual) awards.

The addition of a new Graduate category is designed to recognise standout candidates who have leveraged apprenticeship programs to start a career within the ICT industry, acknowledging the importance of encouraging young female talent to join the local technology sector.

Also new to the program is a D&I Champion category - spanning both Company and Individual awards - which represents a natural evolution of the long-standing Community honour. This is designed to recognise influential individuals who actively drive D&I initiatives outside of core day-to-day responsibilities, alongside pioneering organisations who have gone beyond surface-level commitments through the introduction of policies and programs to meet D&I goals.

“Notably, the Shining Star category has emphasised the accelerating potential of more and more women taking a seat at the decision-making table in Southeast Asia,” Yumul added.

“WIICTA has also connected female leaders from different countries, allowing for a rewarding peer-to-peer engagement and exchange of ideas. Even more encouraging is the active allyship and sponsorship of male industry peers - such a powerful display of inclusion is alive and well in ASEAN.”

In response to a wealth of standpoint submissions, five categories have been divided to best acknowledge and highlight the depth of female talent in Southeast Asia.

Innovation, Entrepreneur, Rising Star and D&I (Individual) will be segmented into two sub-categories spanning Country and Regional, reflecting country specific nominations and regionally focused submissions.

Meanwhile, Shining Star will be divided into five sub-categories housing Partner, Distributor, Vendor (Country), Vendor (ASEAN) and Vendor (Asia Pacific). Specific to Vendor, this breakdown covers submissions from in-market candidates (Country), plus those holding ASEAN and Southeast Asia territory positions (ASEAN) and individuals with region-wide responsibilities (Asia Pacific).

This decision was made by the IDG shortlist panel consisting of Cherry Yumul (vice president of Strategic Partnerships and Innovation); James Henderson (Editorial Director) and Julia Talevski (Senior Journalist) with the aim of providing a foundation upon which a broader range of exceptional female candidates can be recognised.

In addition to honouring winners, Channel Asia also holds wider responsibility for ensuring as many outstanding women are endorsed through this unique awards program, aligned to the collective goal of providing a platform upon which aspiring female talent can shine across ASEAN.

The winners will now be selected by an executive panel of more than 45 industry judges, acknowledging creativity, innovation and excellence.

Set for Thursday 5 August (2-4pm SGT), the winners will be announced during a virtual celebration event with registration set to open in the coming days. For more information - click here.

Advancing women in tech

Channel Asia has celebrated gender diversity and recognised female excellence across the ASEAN channel since first launching WIICTA in 2019, acknowledging the achievements of a talented group of female front runners who have become influential figures across the local industry.

This has been further supported by State of Gender Diversity in the Tech Channel, a new research initiative designed to examine D&I progress across the technology channel.

Launched in May, this in-depth survey will focus on the three core pillars of D&I, spanning Tech Industry, Workplace and Personal Experience.

In an industry-first for the channel, research is open to female, male and other gender identities, welcoming submissions from CEO to graduate levels across all company sizes, industry segments and locations. Questions are designed to be fielded by participants across different age groups, cultural backgrounds and job functions - spanning management, sales, operations, technical and marketing roles - irrespective of industry tenure.

The aim is to independently and confidentially source a range of perspectives industry-wide, aligned to the collective goal of moving the conversation forward in relation to D&I within the channel.

Spearheaded by IDG’s leading channel brands across Asia Pacific - Channel Asia (Southeast Asia), ARN (Australia) and Reseller News (New Zealand) - data will be segmented based on location, company type and job function, covering the core issues of gender pay, career progression and company support among others.

The launch of State of Gender Diversity in the Tech Channel represents a landmark moment in the industry, with IDG - as the world’s leading tech media, data and marketing services company - becoming the first independent outlet to open such dedicated research in ASEAN. Findings will be presented during the upcoming virtual WIICTA event in August.

Channel Asia congratulates all finalists and thanks all organisations and individuals for taking the time to submit nominations. Finalists are listed below by name and organisation.

INNOVATION

This award recognises a creative-thinking candidate who is a standout in bringing innovation to life through a big picture and out-of-the-box approach to business. This individual is unrivalled at converting embryonic ideas into viable working solutions through a unique thought process designed to continually push the envelope.

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