10/29/2022
29 OCTOBER
Stephanie “Steve” Shirley (1933–)
At the age of five, Stephanie Shirley, born Vera Buchtal, arrived in the UK with her sister as part of the Kindertransport, which rescued mostly Jewish children from the N***s. Growing up with foster parents, Shirley discovered a talent for mathematics and computing.
In 1962, after leaving a job where her suggestions were ignored “but when a man made the same point five minutes later it would be, ‘Oh yes, we must do that,’” she set up Freelance Programmers, a software company, from home. Employing almost exclusively women, the company was radical for being “family friendly,” with flexible hours and the possibility of homeworking. Shirley began signing letters “Steve” when she realized her name was a problem in the male-dominated IT industry; from this moment the business took off. Her team programmed Concorde’s black box flight recorder; in 1993, Shirley took the company public, making her and seventy of her staff millionaires.
While running her business, Shirley was also caring for her autistic son. Since his death she has donated around £135 million to autism research, becoming the UK’s first Ambassador for Philanthropy.
On this day in 2012, Shirley published her memoir, Let It Go. In a 2015 TED talk, she said: “I decided to make mine a life that was worth saving. And then I just got on with it.”
Allieandnikki.com
Bell, Jo; Hershman, Tania; Holland, Ailsa. On This Day She (p. 333). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Kindle Edition.
