2022 TECH DIVERSITY AWARDS

2022 Tech Diversity Awards

STEM Hub attended the 2022 #TechDiversity Awards run by non profit, Tech Diversity Foundation last night at the Sofitel Hotel on Collins Street in Melbourne.

Wurundjeri Land Council opened up the evening with a tribal performance followed with Ms. Stacie Piper speaking on behalf of the council.

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With over 100 nominations and nine categories STEM Hub was up among the likes of Facebook, AFL & ANZ Bank to name just several big players in the Marketing, Media and Advertising category in submitting “HEADJAM : The STEM Magazine for Inquisitive Young Minds and the Australian F1 Grand Prix and BAE Systems Powerboat Challenge” for nomination.

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Competition was fierce and although STEM Hub didn’t win an award, “to be considered on par with these giants is epic” said Dr. Jo Zimpel, Founder of STEM Hub.

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Soozey Johnstone, co-founder of the #TechDiversity Awards said “we should be celebrating all growth and development toward a more equitable society because if you're not celebrating it, you're not recognising it's happening. We need more stories and more data if we are going to make a dent in the diversity stats and that’s what tonight is all about.”

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The Tech Diversity Awards were absent last year due to the lockdowns which made coming back to face to face events with a buzz that was palpable.  

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Conversations in the evening carried golden nuggets of information, Tech Diversity judge Zarmeen Pavri from Sustainable Development Ventures said, “being an entrepreneur and founder is different, it's gutsy..not everyone can do a start up biz”. 

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Karen Finch, Founder and CEO of Legally Yours and Board Member of Tech Diversity Awards Partner, Australian Legal Technology Association (ALTA/WALTA), referred to statistics from the ALTA commissioned 2021 report entitled ‘Diversity in Legal Tech - It’s Time for Action’. Data from the report revealed only 11% of global funds were distributed to companies with a female founder, with 9% going to companies with both a male and female co-founder, and only 2% to female founded start-ups, highlighting the real diversity challenge women face in the funding cycle.

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In bringing these gaps of support within the space of technology to awareness in conversation, #TechDiversity achieved their mission at the #TechDiversity Awards to focus on diversity and achieve a culture of inclusion through conversation, collaboration and action.