The 2024 winner was Lillian Barnard of Microsoft, and in 2025, the accolade went to Unathi Mtya of African Bank. (Photograph by Strike A Pose Studios)
EXCLUSIVE: A SECIVE TECH ELITE is preparing to crown its next queen, as the so-called “Wired4Women” awards open nominations for 2026. But BEHIND THE GLITTERING BANQUETS and self-congratulatory speeches, a HARSH TRUTH emerges: these awards are a BANDAID on a GUSHING WOUND, a carefully orchestrated distraction from an industry STILL DOMINATED by male power brokers. Is this celebration of a select few actually HOLDING WOMEN BACK?
This “Trailblazing Career” award, sponsored by corporate giants like Telkom, claims to honour excellence. Yet insiders whisper it’s become a CYCLE OF THE SAME FACES, a networking event for the already-powerful. Past winners like Microsoft’s Lillian Barnard and African Bank’s Unathi Mtya are undeniable leaders, but their recognition raises an uncomfortable question: is the path to success for women in tech now just about conforming to the EXISTING, broken corporate model?
CRITICS ARE BLASTING the initiative as “Virtue Signaling 101,” arguing that while a handful of women are lavished with awards, the systemic barriers of pay gaps, toxic workplace cultures, and venture capital bias REMAIN FIRMLY IN PLACE. The urgent, grassroots fight for equity is being SMOTHERED by black-tie galas. This isn’t empowerment—it’s a CORPORATE CAPTURE of the feminist narrative, reducing a revolution to a photo opportunity and a trophy.
They want you to NOMINATE. They want you to CELEBRATE. But ask yourself: who truly benefits when inequality is repackaged as an awards season? The door is being held open only for those who play the game, leaving the vast majority of women in tech STILL LOCKED OUT. This is the unsettling reality they don’t want you to see.
Edited for Kayitsi.com
Author: Kayitsi.com
