Yayasan Tuanku Fauziah Launches Women In Technology Awards 2026, Recognising Malaysian Women in STEM
TLDR
- Yayasan Tuanku Fauziah (YTF) and MIGHT have jointly launched the Women In Technology Awards 2026, a national initiative to honour Malaysian women driving STI innovation.
- Two categories: Senior (RM 30,000 + certificate, 20+ years experience) and Junior (RM 15,000 + certificate, age 35 or below with under 10 years in tech).
- Nominations are open from 10 August to 5 September 2026 via might.org.my, accepting self-nominations and third-party submissions across industry, academia, startups, government and research.
- Winners will be recognised at the YTF Gala Dinner on 17 October 2026, with total prize money of RM 45,000 across both categories.
- The awards build on MIGHT’s “Futures According to Women” report and target women already shaping Malaysia’s science, technology and innovation ecosystem.
Yayasan Tuanku Fauziah (YTF), the women’s foundation established under the patronage of the Raja Permaisuri of Perlis, has launched the Women In Technology Awards 2026 with the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) as its technical partner. The two-tier recognition programme is a nationwide initiative to celebrate Malaysian women whose leadership, innovation and technological achievements are helping shape the nation’s future.
YTF has been championing programmes that advance education, leadership development and capacity building for women in Malaysia since 2004. The 2026 awards mark a deliberate pivot toward science, technology and innovation (STI) — sectors where Malaysian women remain underrepresented in senior technical and commercial roles despite steady gains in tertiary STEM enrolment over the past decade.
Two Categories, Real Money on the Table
The awards feature two parallel tracks. The Senior Women in Technology Award carries RM 30,000 and a certificate, and is open to professional women with at least 20 years of experience who have contributed significantly to technology-related fields. The Junior Women in Technology Award comes with RM 15,000 and a certificate, and honours emerging researchers, academics, technologists and innovators aged 35 and below, or with less than 10 years of professional experience.
Eligible nominations will be evaluated on professional achievements, technological expertise, innovation, leadership, national and societal impact, contributions towards advancing women in technology, community engagement, and overall contribution to Malaysia’s innovation ecosystem. Both self-nominations and third-party nominations from industry, academia, government, startups, research institutions and other technology-driven sectors are welcomed, with submissions accepted through the official portal at might.org.my.
Built on Top of MIGHT’s “Futures According to Women” Report
The awards build directly on insights from MIGHT’s recently launched Futures According to Women report, which surfaced aspirations shared by Malaysian women about the future they want to see — one where technology, innovation and leadership create opportunities for a more inclusive and resilient Malaysia. Ts. Rushdi Abdul Rahim, President and Chief Executive Officer of MIGHT, said the awards are designed to recognise women who are already turning those aspirations into reality.
By singling out women across research and development, startups, academia, government and the corporate sector, the programme aims to surface role models whose work delivers both business value and social impact. Winners will be honoured at the YTF Gala Dinner on 17 October 2026 after a four-week nomination window that closes on 5 September.
Our Take
The Women In Technology Awards 2026 is a meaningful step beyond the usual trophy-and-photo treatment. With RM 45,000 in prize money split across senior and emerging categories, and nominations open across virtually every corner of the Malaysian tech ecosystem, the programme is built to capture breadth — not just the same handful of Klang Valley founders who collect every other industry award.
That said, the long-term impact will hinge on what happens after the gala dinner. A December-half ceremony and a LinkedIn post won’t move the needle on the structural barriers facing Malaysian women in STEM — mentorship pipelines, procurement bias, and the gap between junior talent and senior leadership. The awards’ real value will be whether YTF and MIGHT can convert recognition into sustained career support, follow-on funding access, and visibility for the next generation of women innovators.
For Malaysian women already working in tech, the immediate action is straightforward: nominations close on 5 September. With the submission window open via might.org.my, this is one of the few national recognition programmes that puts real money on the table for women in science, technology and innovation — and it deserves a strong nominee pool.
