2025/26 Award Categories
AI + the Future of Work
This category seeks women-led innovations that harness AI to build a more equitable, inclusive, and human-centric future of work. We are looking for solutions that empower employees, augment human capabilities, and foster safer, more collaborative workplaces. Submissions could include AI-driven tools for skills development and lifelong learning, platforms that eliminate bias in recruitment and promotion, intelligent systems that enhance productivity while prioritising worker well-being, or applications that support new models of flexible and accessible employment.
We value projects that responsibly manage the transition to an AI-augmented workforce, reimagining how people and machines work together and ensuring that technological advancement translates into meaningful and sustainable opportunities for all.
AI + Education
This category invites applications from trailblazers developing and using AI to revolutionise learning, making education more personalised, accessible, qualitative, and effective. It seeks to celebrate AI-powered solutions that cater to diverse learning styles, bridge educational, generational and geographical gaps, and provide new and accessible pathways to knowledge, and it celebrates the power of AI to unlock curiosity and opportunity for learners everywhere.
Examples include adaptive learning platforms, intelligent tutoring systems, tools that free up educators' time, and applications that provide immersive and engaging learning experiences. We are particularly interested in projects that address ethical considerations such as data privacy, algorithmic fairness, and ensuring equitable access to these advanced educational tools for learners from all backgrounds. Initiatives that foster digital literacy, reduce barriers to learning for marginalised groups, or promote responsible AI education are especially encouraged.
AI + Health
This category honours women who are pioneering responsible AI solutions to address pressing global health challenges and advance healthcare accessibility, equity, and innovation. We are looking for innovations that improve patient outcomes, enhance diagnostic accuracy, accelerate biomedical research, and make healthcare more efficient and accessible,while ensuring that technology enhances, not replaces, humanity within healthcare.
Submissions may range from AI models for early disease detection and personalised treatment plans to platforms that optimize hospital logistics or tools that empower individuals to manage their own health. Crucially, all submissions must demonstrate a strong commitment to ethical principles, including patient data privacy, model transparency, and the mitigation of biases to ensure equitable healthcare for all communities. Projects addressing gender disparities in healthcare or developing AI tools that strengthen public health systems are highly encouraged.
AI + Finance
This award category spotlights AI innovations that are building a more transparent, inclusive, and secure financial ecosystem. From responsible fintech solutions and bias-free credit models to sustainable investment tools and financial education platforms, AI is driving a new era of equitable finance. We are seeking applications that leverage AI to democratise access to financial services, enhance security, and promote financial literacy.This could include tools and applications that expand credit opportunities for underrepresented groups, combat fraud, or promote ethical investment.
We are looking for leaders who prioritise consumer protection, data ethics, and algorithmic fairness, ensuring that AI in finance empowers individuals and strengthens the global economy responsibly. Projects that merge AI with social impact supporting financial literacy, climate finance, or gender-lens investing are highly encouraged.
AI + Food and Agriculture
This category celebrates innovators developing and using AI to create more sustainable, resilient, and equitable food systems. We are looking for AI-driven solutions that address challenges all along the agricultural value chain, from farm to fork. This includes applications in precision agriculture that optimise crop yields while minimising environmental impact, AI models that predict and mitigate the effects of climate change on food supply, platforms that reduce food waste, or tools that enhance supply chain transparency and traceability.
We encourage submissions that empower smallholder farmers, promote biodiversity, ethical consumption, or sustainable land management, and ensure that technology contributes to global food security in a just and sustainable way.
AI + Trust and Security
This category recognises women advancing technologies and frameworks that keep people, systems, and data safe, and that use AI to build a safer and more trustworthy digital society. We invite submissions from leaders developing AI-powered solutions to tackle complex security challenges, such as cybersecurity threats, misinformation, and the protection of critical infrastructure, to build resilient digital infrastructures.
This category also honours work that focuses on building trust in AI systems themselves, through innovations in explainability, accountability, transparency, privacy-preserving techniques, and robust algorithmic auditing. We are looking for applications that not only advance the state of the art in security but also champion the ethical development of trustworthy AI.
AI + Climate
This category is dedicated to women leveraging AI to combat the climate crisis and accelerate the transition to a sustainable future. From emissions tracking and renewable energy optimisation to climate forecasting and disaster resilience, AI offers tools for global sustainability. We seek impactful, scalable, and responsible AI solutions that help us monitor, mitigate, and adapt to climate change and accelerate environmental action and accountability.
Submissions could include AI models that optimise renewable energy grids, platforms for monitoring deforestation and biodiversity loss, systems that improve climate prediction and early warning systems, or solutions for sustainable infrastructure. We value projects that not only offer powerful environmental benefits but are also developed with consideration for their own energy footprint and social equity implications.
AI + Media and Creative Industries
This award category celebrates the creative and responsible application of AI in media, arts, and entertainment. From ethical content generation to art, music, journalism, and film, AI is reshaping creative expression and access. This award highlights those ensuring that creativity powered by AI remains authentic, inclusive, and human-led, while pushing boundaries and creating more personalised and engaging audience experiences.
This category also values innovations that use AI to solve industry challenges, such as content moderation, intellectual property protection, and combating disinformation. Submissions should demonstrate a thoughtful approach to ethical considerations, including data provenance, the rights of artists, and the potential societal impact of AI-generated content, fostering a vibrant and responsible creative ecosystem. Projects promoting media literacy, cultural preservation, or equitable representation in AI-generated content are encouraged.
Thought Leadership in AI
This award honours women who are shaping the global conversation on responsible AI and whose influence extends beyond innovation, shaping how societies understand and govern AI. The category is open to researchers, policymakers, educators, artists, and advocates whose work has significantly advanced the theory, ethics, or public understanding of artificial intelligence.
We seek to celebrate those who are developing influential ethical frameworks, leading critical public discourse, championing policies that promote fairness and accountability, or creating educational initiatives that foster a more AI-literate society. Nominees should have a demonstrated track record of inspiring change and guiding the development of AI towards a more equitable and beneficial future for humanity.
AI Wild Card
This category is for the truly unconventional, the game-changers whose work defies traditional classification. If you are using AI in a novel, unexpected, or groundbreaking way that doesn't fit neatly into any of our other categories, this is your space. We are looking for pioneering applications and visionary ideas that have the potential to open up entirely new domains for responsible AI innovation. From exploring the frontiers of science to addressing unique social challenges, the AI Wild Card category celebrates the bold, the creative, and the transformative power of thinking differently. Surprise us with your values-driven and transformative vision for a better future.