Iranian women have surprisingly been at the forefront of societal change.  Despite difficult circumstances these women have championed various causes and have proven to be pioneers across different industries and fields.  IT is no surprise.  With more than 50% of college graduates women even in STEM fields, times are changing.  With the promise of the rise of the new startup ecosystem in Iran, it is time to celebrate female founders that can greatly contribute to the overall economic development.  However, these girls owe their current position to pioneers like Azadeh Danande 

In commemoration of Azadeh Danandeh, a powerhouse in shaping Iran’s IT systems and for her contribution to the field, the National Association of Iranian Women Entrepreneurs has initiated an annual award in recognition of her achievements and to celebrate her life after she lost her battle with cancer last year.  As the startup ecosystem is expanding in Iran, the Azadeh award celebrates female founders in two categories to ensure the continuation of Ms. Danandeh’s path to success and to garner a bigger role for women to play in STEM. The award celebrates female founders in two categories: those who are founders or co-founders of a startup active in ______ and those who have successfully launched their company pursuing innovation and creativity in a variety of industries.  The selection process though arduous due to the number of applications, has provided a ray of hope.

It heralds the promise of women and girls in Iran actively pursuing their career and economic goals despite certain barriers

Ms. Danandeh was born in 1959 in Tehran in a pre-dominantly female household and with full support of her family pursued a career in data processing.  She was amongst one of the few females who after the 1979 revolution pursued a career in the IT industry, but she not only pursued it, but conquered the field and later on led the industry to help solve different problems facing an Iran that was in many respects left isolated who had to devise new IT systems using reverse engineering due to international sanctions. There was no holding Azadeh back in both pursuing her own dreams or encouraging the younger generations to push to envelope to learn more vigorously and not shy away from any obstacles. Despite an illustrious career working in one of the largest IT companies in Iran, Azadeh learned to balance her work with her family and achieved a balance between these two worlds.  Her life was unfortunately cut short due to her losing battle with breast cancer but she never succumbed to her illness and helped all those around her with their goals even to the very end.  NAWE is proud of Azadeh as one of its founders and hopes to continue the progressive attitude and outlook Azadeh always had facing different challenges