The Women in Drupal Award sponsored by JAKALA, returned this year to honour and celebrate the outstanding achievements of women making remarkable contributions to the global Drupal community. The award, presented during the prestigious DrupalCon Vienna 2025 opening ceremony, recognises women who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, innovation, and impact within one of the world’s most influential open-source ecosystems.
Created by JAKALA, with the mission of amplifying women’s voices in technology, the Women in Drupal Award highlights three core values that reflect the essence of the Drupal community: Inspire, Connect, and Empower. The award has three categories to celebrate women who embody these principles through their work as developers, designers, mentors, advocates, and community builders.
Every story shared through the Women in Drupal Award reminds us why diversity matters—it changes how we think, build, and collaborate. Supporting this initiative is both a privilege and a responsibility, one that aligns deeply with JAKALA’s purpose of creating meaningful impact through technology.
— Kitt Ralkov, Managing Director, Experience, HR & Marketing at JAKALA
This year’s honourees were recognised for their outstanding contributions to Drupal and the wider tech community:
- Define Award – Emma Horrell
Honoured for her leadership in shaping digital strategy and defining inclusive, impactful solutions that set the direction for successful Drupal projects. - Build Award – Sinduri Guntupalli
Recognised for her hands-on innovation, exceptional technical expertise, and commitment to creating robust and scalable Drupal solutions. - Scale Award – Jess (xjm)
Celebrated for her ability to grow teams, communities, and projects—amplifying the reach of Drupal across industries and empowering others along the way.
JAKALA created the Women in Drupal award to ensure that women’s stories and successes in technology are visible and celebrated. With Drupal powering millions of websites worldwide, the community’s ongoing efforts toward gender inclusion reflect a broader movement across open source: making technology more welcoming and equitable for everyone.
You have to get through the impostor syndrome. The community is super welcoming.
said Emma Horrell, one of this year’s recipients.
JAKALA is the official sponsor of the Women in Drupal Award since its inception four years ago. As a long-standing supporter of diversity and inclusion in technology, JAKLA ensured the award could reach a global audience and showcase some of the incredible talent in the Drupal community. Through its commitment to equity and innovation, JAKALA continues to help shape a more inclusive future for open source communities worldwide.
In the end, I mostly wanted to give back to the community.
said Sinduri Guntupalli.
The ceremony has become a highlight of DrupalCon. Beyond the award itself, the wider Women in Drupal initiative fosters mentorship programs, networking opportunities, and global visibility for women working in Drupal and open source.
I was intimidated by core contribution but very friendly members of the community came to me
said Jess (xjm).
The Women in Drupal Award is supported by the Drupal Association and leading organisations across the industry. Together, they aim to build a more inclusive, diverse, and forward-looking community, one that reflects the world it serves.
About Women in Drupal
Women in Drupal is a community-driven initiative dedicated to celebrating, supporting, and empowering women in the Drupal ecosystem. Through events, mentorship, and recognition, the program fosters inclusion and encourages greater participation and leadership in open source.