A woman has been named the 'Ultimate Northern Gamechanger' at an awards ceremony.

Beckie Taylor, from Bury, was recognised for her work in tech at the Northern Gamechangers 2024 event on October 17.

The co-founder of Tech Returners, an initiative supporting those re-entering careers in technology and innovation, was inspired to make a change after her personal experience of returning to the tech industry after having her first child.

She said she felt 'isolated' and 'lacking in confidence and self-belief', and was also left behind by the fast-paced nature of the industry.

In 2017, she set up the organisation in a bid to address the underrepresentation of women in tech and assist individuals who have taken career breaks due to caregiving responsibilities, or other reasons, to return to work in the tech industry.

Since then, she has also built the Confidence Community, helping more than 140 women into leadership roles, launched ReframeWIT, a non-profit Women in Tech conference in the North, and co-founded WIT North, 'one of the largest Women in Tech community groups in the UK.'

She also recently launched Voices in Tech, a new speaker platform connecting people with progressive events to 'amplify diverse individuals in tech.'

The Northern Gamechangers, founded by business consultancy Elevate, celebrates those making an impact across the North.

This includes businesses pioneering innovation in sustainability and those driving positive change in their local communities.

The full list of 50 Northern Gamechangers was released last month, and the honourees gathered to celebrate each other’s success at the event.

Ms Taylor was announced as the ‘2024 Ultimate Northern Gamechanger’ and was presented with a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork from artist Caroline Dowsett.

After winning the award, Ms Taylor said: "It’s an honour to be picked as the 2024 Ultimate Northern Gamechanger and for me, it proves what I’ve always believed – that anything is possible.

"I’ve always lived by a quote that my late dad and gran would say to me growing up: ‘there will be lots of challenges in life, but you should never give up’ and that’s what has inspired me to achieve everything I have so far.

"I’ve faced many challenges over the years, personal and professional, including scaling a business through covid.

"Having that resilience and being recognised for it by the city region that I established Tech Returners in means everything to me.

"When we established that organisation, the whole purpose was to support women back into tech and this has just made me want to champion it even more."

Ilona Alcock, Co-Founder and Director of Elevate, said: "The North is better and stronger because of the work Beckie has done – and we can’t wait to see the next stage of the adventure.”