The Women Leading Tech Awards, presented by Atlassian, is returning for 2027, with a new nomination system and four new industry categories designed to recognise the women shaping Australia and New Zealand’s technology sectors.
Earlier this year, the 2026 Awards was a triumph with Canva’s Maddie King taking home the highly coveted Woman of the Year award.
The Awards will celebrate the women driving change, breaking through barriers and turning challenges into progress across the industry. Awards night itself will take place on 19 March 2027 at a glamorous ceremony at Sydney Town Hall.
New for this year is a nomination system.
Colleagues and industry peers can nominate women they believe deserve recognition, sharing a message explaining why they should be celebrated.
Nominees will then be invited to complete an official award submission.
The move aims to ensure deserving women are recognised for their contributions, including those who may not otherwise put themselves forward.
The ever-popular Women Leading Tech Power List will return as well. This year, Melanie Perkins, CEO and co-founder of Canva, took the top spot.
The Awards will recognise talent across three broad category of award: Job Role, Industry and Changemakers.
For 2027, there are four new Industry Awards up for grabs: EdTech, HealthTech, HR & Recruitment Tech and PropTech & Construction Tech.
These sit alongside existing awards including AdTech, AI Innovator, sponsored by Quantium, Cybersecurity, Education & Research, FinTech and MarTech.
The Industry awards celebrate women making change at a industry-wide level in a specific field of expertise.
Job Role awards range from business support, finance and accounting, customer success and design to developers, engineers, founders, executive leaders, marketers, product specialists, public relations and sales professionals.
Meanwhile, Changemaker awards will recognise those making a broader impact through mentorship, innovation, organisational leadership and social change. Categories include Champion of Change, Employer, Glass Ceiling, Innovator, Mentor, Rising Star and The Women Leading Tech Award For Society.
And The Woman of the Year award, sponsored by Atlassian, will be up for grabs once again.
The awards are open to women, non-binary people and gender-diverse members of Australia’s technology industry, recognising contributions across different roles, organisations and communities.
Key Dates
- Entry Deadline – 11:59pm AEDT, Thursday 28 January 2027
- Late entry deadline – 11:59pm AEDT, Thursday 4 February 2027
- People’s Choice Poll Launches – Thursday 11 February 2027
- Last Chance For Early Bird Tickets! – 11:59pm AEDT, Wednesday 3 March 2027
- Finalists Announcement – Thursday 4 March 2027
- People’s Choice Poll Closes – 11:59pm AEDT, Friday 6 March 2027
- Awards Night – Friday 19 March, 2027 | Sydney Town Hall
