Women in STEM & Technology Award
Founders building in technology, AI, engineering, science, fintech, cybersecurity or health tech.
Women in STEM & Technology Award
Technical depth married to commercial delivery. This category honours immigrant women who are building the technical infrastructure of the Canadian economy, often after having their overseas qualifications questioned, discounted or ignored.
Who should be nominated
Founders whose business is fundamentally technical: software and SaaS, artificial intelligence and data, engineering and advanced manufacturing, applied science and biotech, fintech, cybersecurity, or health technology.
How this category is scored.
Each judge scores every criterion from 1 to 10, and the weights below turn those into a single averaged score. Nothing is scored that is not on this table.
| Criterion | Weight | What judges are assessing |
|---|---|---|
| Technical Substance | 30% | The depth and rigour of what has actually been built, and the difficulty of building it. |
| Commercial Traction | 25% | Customers, contracts, deployments, licensing or funding that show the technology has a market. |
| Innovation & Differentiation | 20% | How the solution differs from what is already available and why that difference matters. |
| Sector Leadership & Representation | 15% | Mentoring, speaking, hiring, teaching or otherwise widening the door for women and newcomers in STEM. |
| Barriers Overcome | 10% | Credential recognition, funding access and industry networks navigated as an immigrant woman in a male dominated field. |
Nominations Open
Someone you know has built something remarkable and has never once been asked to tell the story. Take fifteen minutes and put her forward.
