2026 Shortlist
Meet the educators shaping her future in STEM!
Cast your vote and help us celebrate organisations who are opening doors and creating more inclusive pathways into tech.
The result of the public vote contributes to the final score of our shortlist, but the ultimate decision lies with our judges.
Voting closes on 6th November
*Please note: To vote, you’ll be asked to join our free community. This helps us verify real people & keeps voting fair.
Ada, the National College for Digital Skills, is a specialist college and charity focused on educating and empowering the next generation of diverse digital talent. Through its sixth form and industry-led apprenticeship programmes, Ada combines technical education with practical, real-world experience and strong links to employers, helping young people from diverse backgrounds build the skills, confidence and opportunities needed to succeed in digital careers.
Away from the Keyboard (AFK) Inc. is an Australian charity working to make technology safer and more inclusive. It delivers practical digital safety and AI literacy education, advocates for people who are often overlooked in technology design, and develops free resources including the Alt-TAB Ethics Framework. AFK’s work spans grassroots community education through to international advocacy at forums including the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and the World Summit on the Information Society, with a particular focus on women and girls, children, disability, neurodiversity, culturally diverse communities, carers and regional Australians.
The Policing, Forensics and Investigative Sciences Department at Bishop Burton College delivers specialist Level 3 education that combines technical learning with real-world policing and investigative practice.
Through subjects including ICT in Policing, Fire Investigation and Crime Scene Investigation Photography, students develop technology-focused skills alongside practical experience, supported by specialist teaching staff with industry backgrounds.
The department also offers the Academy of Criminal Justice and Investigative Sciences, providing additional opportunities to develop advanced, career-ready skills.
Black Girls Code is a non-profit organisation working to increase access to technology and STEAM education for Black girls, women and gender-expansive youth.
Through hands-on coding programmes, mentorship, community and career pathways, BGC helps learners build technical and leadership skills, confidence and a sense of belonging, preparing the next generation to lead and shape the future of tech.
CODDY (coddyschool.com) is an international coding and digital skills school for children and teens aged 4-16, founded in 2016 by female entrepreneur Oksana Selendeeva. The network spans 400+ locations in 28 countries with 200,000+ graduates and 100+ project-based courses in programming, game development, design, AI and cybersecurity. CODDY has provided 3,200+ fully funded places for orphans, children with special educational needs and kids from low-income families, and is recognized internationally (GLOBEE® Company of the Year; Forbes Top-20 education franchises).
CodeOp was founded in 2018 to help solve the gender disparity problem in the tech space. They are the first international tech school for women, transgender, and non-binary individuals (women+) who want to transition to, or upskill in tech.
CodeOp are here to provide the safe space, training, and resources needed to encourage, support, and equip women+ with the skills they need to thrive in the tech industry. In doing so, they aim to change the culture of tech worldwide.
Data for Her is dedicated to empowering women and underprivileged communities by giving them access to data learning, mentorship, and career opportunities in tech.
Through resources like DataCamp, along with free mentorship sessions, we help learners build their data skills, grow their confidence, and shape clear pathways into tech careers.
Django Girls is a non-profit organization that empowers and helps women to organize free, one-day programming workshops by providing tools, resources and support. Our goal is to bring more amazing women into the world of technology and increase the diversity in the Django community. We believe that technology is for people and everyone should be able to build it. We are making technology more approachable by creating simple tools and resources designed with empathy.
Enchanted Digital Academy (EDA) is a Nigerian digital acceleration hub and career development ecosystem focused on helping young people build practical, future-ready skills and transition from learning into real-world opportunities.
Through initiatives such as the Enchanted Digital Student Internship Programme (EDSIP), EDA provides structured, workplace-style experience across technology, product, design, business and communications.
Its goal is to bridge the gap between digital education and employability by giving emerging talent opportunities to practise, collaborate, build portfolios and develop the experience needed to participate meaningfully in Africa’s growing digital economy.
Flatiron School is a technology education provider helping people build skills and launch careers in software engineering, AI and data science, and cybersecurity. Its hands-on, project-based programmes combine technical training, expert mentorship and career support, with work-integrated programmes also offering paid apprenticeships so learners can gain real-world experience while they study.
Founders and Coders CIC is a UK-based non-profit that develops and runs tuition-free, peer-led training programmes in web development, guided by our core values of cooperation, inclusion and social impact.
In the last two years, 57% of their London intake were women. In their experience, cohorts thrive when teams represent a diversity of experiences and perspectives, providing many opportunities for people to learn new ways of thinking from each other.
Generation United Kingdom is a registered UK charity that runs free, intensive skills bootcamps to help people facing barriers to employment move into careers in tech, sustainability, and healthcare.
Girl Develop It is a non-profit devoted to getting women the materials they need to pursue careers in software development. GDI provides affordable programs for women interested in learning web and software development in a judgment-free environment.
Just IT empower women in technology by providing skills, confidence, and support through industry-recognised training, mentorship, and a strong community. Their mission is to bridge the gender gap in IT and create a more inclusive industry, shaping the future of tech.
Kal Academy is dedicated to providing women and under-represented minorities with the skills and tools they need to thrive in today’s tech industry. Their coding classes are designed to support people who have jobs, kids, and busy lives, at an affordable cost.
La Fosse Academy helps people build careers in tech through practical training, work placements and support into the industry.
Its programmes are designed for career changers, recent graduates and career returners, offering a no-fee, no-debt route into tech while helping businesses access and develop new talent.
Laboratoria is an organisation empowering women who dream of a better future to start and grow careers in technology. It seeks this through totally remote bootcamps, focused on technical and life skills, aimed at women who haven’t been able to start their careers.
After the bootcamp, Laboratoria guides their graduates to find quality jobs in the tech sector.
myDataClique is a data community dedicated to helping beginners and aspiring data analysts grow into confident, independent professionals.
Join for support, resources, and guidance as you build your skills and career in data analytiCS
Otermans Institute (OI) is a UK-based research-led AI organisation specialising in human-centered AI and digital learning for underserved communities. For over 5 years, OI has pioneered “voice-first” and “offline-first” platforms that bridge literacy and connectivity gaps, serving learners in 17 countries. Its participatory co-creation approach with users, NGOs and governments ensures cultural relevance, capacity building and sustainable adoption. They have been funded previously by top UK bodies like Innovate UK. Most recently, they are upskilling 180,000+ learners in Kenya on AI literacy.
PlayStation Career Pathways (PSCP) is a career development program designed to expand access to opportunities in the games and technology industry. The program combines education and professional development with mentorship, hands-on learning, industry exposure, and opportunities to connect with PlayStation employees and industry professionals.
PSCP helps scholars build skills, professional networks, confidence, and greater understanding of career pathways across games and technology.
Resilient Coders is a nonprofit organisation working to create greater equity in the tech industry by training underrepresented Black and brown talent for careers in software engineering.
Its free, stipended bootcamp combines technical training with professional development, mentorship and ongoing community support, helping people access sustainable, high-growth careers in tech.
School of Code is about opening the opportunity of tech up to everyone. Their free coding bootcamp takes you from 0 to programmer and ready to launch into a career in tech!
You’ll be trained in the industry best practices and standards, and they will help you to get a foothold in the tech industry. On top of creating software to solve real-world problems, you’ll receive training to be confident and job-ready.
School of Code have helped hundreds of people completely change their lives for the better.
TechSwitch was founded in 2019 on the belief that great software developers can come from any background.
They are passionate about encouraging greater diversity and inclusion in tech and helping people to retrain for a new career by providing accessible routes into the industry is something they are proud to be involved in.
The Coders Guild is a leading provider of tech apprenticeships and digital skills courses for people of all backgrounds.
They are on a mission to unlock the full potential of the tech industry, by making high quality digital skills training and tech education equally available to every person and every business.
TripleTen helps people change their lives. TripleTen’s top-ranked tech bootcamps in Software Engineering, Quality Assurance, BI Analytics, and Data Science welcome people from all walks of life.
And with in-depth career prep in their field, 87% of TripleTen graduates land a job within six months.
