Hairstylist turned tech founder wins at SWiT Awards

A hairstylist turned tech entrepreneur was the wildcard winner at tonight’s spectacular Scotland Women in Technology (SWiT) 2025 Awards.

Tracey Aitken, co-founder of HairTracker, a digital record card app that allows salon professionals to document a client’s hair journey and details resulting in stronger customer relationships, took home the Career Changer of the Year award. Judges commented that Tracy’s journey to tech had been an “inspirational story of determination” and a “huge jump into a completely different sector” in launching a “fantastic idea for her industry.”

Other big winners during the awards ceremony included software testing and quality assurance organisation, 2i Testing and data and AI recruiter, The Data Gals.

Individuals from 2i Testing were recognised in a tremendous three categories for their diversity efforts including the Everyday Leader Award, Inspirational Woman of the Year and Gender Diversity Ally of the Year.Winners from the company included Victoria Stark, QAT analyst who received the Everyday Leader Award. She was recognised for what the judges said was “the transformation of internal communications, mentorship and empowerment across the organisation.”

Katherine Leyland, software test engineer at 2i Testing was named as Inspirational Woman of the Year. Judges commented that her story was “deeply inspirational – transitioning from teaching to tech, overcoming personal loss, and leading technical transformation.”

Finally, Dawed Saied, senior customer success manager at 2i Testing took home the Gender Diversity Ally of the Year. He was recognised for championing “women in technology, gender diversity and cultivating a supportive environment for all in both his role at 2i as well at Codespace and Edinburgh College.”

Later in the evening, Katarina Svistseva, founder of The Data Gals, a data and AI recruiter was named not only as Mentor of the Year but also took home Inclusive Recruiter of the Year. Judges noted that she had built a “structured, scalable mentorship programme that has supported 84 women across Scotland and Wales.” The organisation was also celebrated for being built entirely on inclusive recruitment principles. From 50/50 shortlists to removing degree requirements, the organisation has seen placement stats far exceed industry averages in the last 12 months.

Silka Patel, Founder and Chair of Scotland Women in Technology said: “Our winners this year are truly inspirational; bringing fresh perspectives from new sectors, supporting a wealth of peers across the UK, and creating supportive environments for diversity to flourish. With over 300 award nominations to just 10 winners, our judges commented how difficult it was to whittle down such high calibre entries. What is clear, however, is that Scotland is leading the way in Diversity, Equality and Inclusion; and championing this across the spectrum is part of the DNA for many organisations based in the country. Congratulations to each of our winners and finalists this evening.”

The full list of winners for the SWiT Awards 2025 included:

JPMorganChase was the 2025 Headline Awards Sponsor and CreateFuture was Gold Sponsor.

More information on SWiT: https://www.scotwomenintech.com/