Dame Vera Stephanie "Steve" Shirley (previously Brook, née Buchthal; born 16 September 1933) is an information technology pioneer, businesswoman and philanthropist (naturalised British in 1951).

Early life

Shirley was born as Vera Buchthal to Arnold Buchthal, a judge in

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

who was Jewish and who lost his post to the

Nazi regime Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

,"Comment and Analysis" report by Pam Kingsley. and a non-Jewish

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Viennese classicism * Viennese coffee house, an eating establishment and part of Viennese ...

mother. In July 1939 Shirley arrived, at the age of five together with her nine-year-old sister Renate, in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

as a ''

Kindertransport The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children from Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, total ...

'' child refugee, and recognized how lucky she was to have been saved. She was placed in the care of foster parents living in

the Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefords ...

town of

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield ( ), is a town and civil parish in the city of Birmingham, West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south of L ...

.Report by Sue Austin. She was due to be attending Oswestry Literary Festival to publicise her autobiography. She was later re-united with her biological parents, but said she "never really bonded with them". Shirley attributes her early childhood trauma as being the driving force behind her ability to keep up with changes in her life and career. After attending a convent school, she moved to

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the England–Wales border, Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5 road (Great Britain), A5, A483 road, A483 and A495 road, A495 ro ...

, near the Welsh border, where she attended the Oswestry Girls' High School. Mathematics was not taught at the school, so she received permission after assessment to take those lessons at the local boys school. She would later recall that, after her ''Kindertransport'' and wartime experiences, "in Oswestry I had five wonderful years of peace".

Biography

After leaving school, Shirley decided not to go to university (botany was the "only science then available to my gender") but sought employment in a mathematics/technical environment. At the age of 18, she became a British citizen and changed her name to Stephanie Brook. In the 1950s, Shirley worked at the

Post Office Research Station The Post Office Research Station was first established as a separate section of the General Post Office in 1909. In 1921, the Research Station moved to Dollis Hill, north west London, initially in ex-army huts. The main permanent buildings at ...

at Dollis Hill, building computers from scratch and writing code in

machine language In computer programming, machine code is computer code consisting of machine language instructions, which are used to control a computer's central processing unit (CPU). For conventional binary computers, machine code is the binaryOn nonb ...

. She took evening classes for six years to obtain an honours degree in mathematics. In 1959, she moved to CDL Ltd, designers of the

ICT 1301 The ICT 1301 and its smaller derivative ICT 1300 were early business computers from International Computers and Tabulators. Typical of mid-sized machines of the era, they used core memory, drum storage and punched cards, but they were unusual in ...

computer. After marriage to a physicist, Derek Shirley (died 2021), in 1959, Shirley founded, with a capital of £6, the software company Freelance Programmers, (later F International, then Xansa, since acquired in 2001 by Steria and now part of the Sopra Steria Group). Having experienced

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

in her workplace, "being fondled, being pushed against the wall", she wanted to create job opportunities for women with dependents, and predominantly employed women, with only three male programmers in the first 300 staff, until the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 made that practice illegal. She also adopted the name "Steve" to help her in the male-dominated business world, given that company letters signed using her real name were not responded to. Her team's projects included programming

Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...

's black box flight recorder. She served as an independent non-executive director for Tandem Computers Inc., The Atomic Energy Authority (later AEA Technology) and the

John Lewis Partnership John Lewis Partnership plc (JLP) is a British company that operates John Lewis & Partners department stores, Waitrose supermarkets, financial services and a build to rent operation. The public limited company is owned by a trust on behalf o ...

. Shirley retired in 1993 at the age of 60 and has since focused on her philanthropy.

Honours

Shirley received her BSc in 1956 and was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the 1980 Birthday Honours for services to industry;

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(DBE) in the

2000 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2000 for the United Kingdom and New Zealand were announced on 31 December 1999, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2000. The ''Honours list'' is a list of people who have been awarded one of the various or ...

for services to information technology.; and

Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. It was founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire. The orde ...

(CH) in the

2017 Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours were awarded a ...

for services to the IT industry and philanthropy. In 1987, she gained the

Freedom of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

. She was the first female President of the chartered

British Computer Society image:Maurice Vincent Wilkes 1980 (3).jpg, Sir Maurice Wilkes served as the first President of BCS in 1957. The British Computer Society (BCS), branded BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, since 2009, is a professional body and a learned ...

from 1989 to 1990 and Master of the IT livery company 1992/93. In 1985, she was awarded a Recognition of Information Technology Award. In 1999, she received the

Mountbatten Medal The IET Mountbatten Medal is awarded annually for an outstanding contribution, or contributions over a period, to the promotion of electronics or information technology and their application. The Medal was established by the National Electronics C ...

. She was appointed a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senio ...

and of

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

in 2001. She has donated most of her wealth (from the internal sale to the company staff and later the flotation of FI Group) to charity.Enterprise Tuesday lecture, Cambridge 3 February 2009 Beneficiaries include the

Worshipful Company of Information Technologists The Worshipful Company of Information Technologists, also known as the Information Technologists' Company, is one of the livery company, livery companies of the City of London. The company was granted livery status by the Court of Aldermen on ...

and the

Oxford Internet Institute The Oxford Internet Institute (OII) serves as a hub for interdisciplinary research, combining social and computer science to explore information, communication, and technology. It is an integral part of the University of Oxford's Social Science ...

, part of the

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, through the Shirley Foundation. Her late son Giles (1963–1998) was

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

and she became an early member of the

National Autistic Society The National Autistic Society is a charity for autistic people and their families in the United Kingdom. Since 1962, the National Autistic Society has been providing support, guidance and advice, as well as campaigning for improved rights, ser ...

. Via the charity

Autistica Autistica is a UK based charity engaged in funding and campaigning for research on autism and related conditions. Its research strategy is focused on improving the understanding of mental health, physical health, language and epilepsy in autism ...

she has instigated and funded research in this field. In 2003, Shirley received the Beacon Fellowship Prize for her contribution to autism research and for her pioneering work in harnessing information technology for the public good. In 1991, Shirley was awarded an honorary doctorate from the

University of Buckingham The University of Buckingham (UB) is a non-profit private university#United Kingdom, private university in Buckingham, England, and the oldest of the country's six private universities. It was founded as the University College at Buckingham (U ...

; since then she has been honoured by the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, and in 2022 by the University of Kent and 28 other UK Universities. In February 2013, she was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History The first BBC programme for women was the programme cal ...

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

. She was also recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2013. In January 2014, the

Science Council The Science Council is a UK organisation that was established by Royal Charter in 2003. The principal activity of The Science Council is the promotion of the advancement and dissemination of knowledge of and education in science pure and applie ...

named Shirley as one of the "Top 100 practising scientists" in the UK. In 2018, she was made a Fellow of the

Computer History Museum The Computer History Museum (CHM) is a computer museum in Mountain View, California. The museum presents stories and artifacts of Silicon Valley and the Information Age, and explores the Digital Revolution, computing revolution and its impact ...

, and became the first woman to win the Gold Medal of the

Chartered Management Institute The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is a professional institution for management based in the United Kingdom. It was founded as the British Institute of Management (BIM) in 1947 or 1948, merged with the Institution of Industrial Managers (I ...

'for her stellar contribution to British engineering and technology'. In August 2021, Shirley unveiled a blue plaque in Oswestry commemorating her school years in the town, the plaque is located on The Broadwalk close to St Oswald's Parish Church. In September 2021 Shirley unveiled a statue by Ian Wolter on

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

Quay, Essex. It commemorates the arrival of the

children at the port.

Philanthropy

The Shirley Foundation, based in the UK, was set up by Shirley in 1986 with a substantial gift to establish a charitable trust fund which spent out in 2018 in favour of Autistica. Its mission was ''facilitation and support of pioneering projects with strategic impact in the field of autism spectrum disorders with particular emphasis on medical research''. The fund has supported many projects through grants and loans including: Autism at Kingwood which supports people with autism spectrum disorders to enjoy full and active lives; Prior's Court, the foundation's largest benefaction, with a residential school for 70 autistic pupils and Young Adult Centre for 20 autistic students; Autism99, the first online autism conference attended by 165,000 people from 33 countries. She addresses conferences around the world (many remotely) and is in frequent contact with parents, carers and those with

autism spectrum Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

disorders. Her autistic son Giles died following an

epileptic seizure A seizure is a sudden, brief disruption of brain activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neuronal firing. Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, o ...

at the age of 35. From May 2009 until May 2010, Shirley served as the UK's

Ambassador for Philanthropy An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

, a government appointment aimed at giving philanthropists a "voice". In 2012, Shirley donated the entirety of her art collection, including works by Elisabeth Frink,

Maggi Hambling Margaret J. Hambling (born 23 October 1945) is a British artist. Though principally a painter, her best-known public works are the sculptures '' A Conversation with Oscar Wilde'' and '' A Sculpture for Mary Wollstonecraft'' in London, and the ...

, Thomas Heatherwick,

Josef Herman Josef Herman (3 January 1911 – 19 February 2000), was a highly regarded Polish-British painter who influenced contemporary art, particularly in the United Kingdom. He was part of a generation of central and eastern European Jewish refuge ...

and John Piper to Prior's Court School and the charity

Paintings in Hospitals Paintings in Hospitals is an The arts, arts in health Charitable organization, charity in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1959, the charity's services include the provision of artwork loans, art projects and art workshops to health and social car ...

. In 2013, appearing on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

's ''Good Morning Sunday'' with

Clare Balding Clare Victoria Balding (born 29 January 1971) is an English broadcast journalist and author. She currently presents programmes for BBC Sport and Channel 4, and previously for BT Sport. She also formerly presented ''Good Morning Sunday'' on BBC ...

, Shirley discussed why she had given away more than £67 million of her personal wealth to different projects. In her 2012 memoirs ''Let IT Go'', she writes "I do it because of my personal history; I need to justify the fact that my life was saved."

Books

* ''Let It Go: My Extraordinary Story – From Refugee to Entrepreneur to Philanthropist'' (with Richard Askwith, 2012, revised 2018) *''My Family in Exile'' (2015) * ''So To Speak'' (2020) an anthology of 30 of Dame Stephanie's speeches * ''Ein unmögliches Leben: Die außergewöhnliche Geschichte einer Frau, die die Regeln der Männer brach und ihren eigenen Weg ging'' (2020) * Déjalo (2022) Ir Memorias de Dame Stephanie (Steve) Shirley La inspiradora biografia de una nińa refugiada que llega a ser millionaria, filintropán y Dama del Imperio Británico.

References

External links

*
Listen to an oral history interview with Dame Stephanie Shirley
– a life story interview recorded for the

National Life Stories National Life Stories (NLS) is an independent charitable trust and limited company (registered as the "National Life Story Collection") based within the British Library Oral History section, whose key focus and expertise is oral history fieldwork. ...

project Oral History of British Science at the British Library
IEEE oral history
* *
"Why do ambitious women have flat heads?" (TED2015)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirley, Steve 1933 births 20th-century English businesspeople 20th-century English businesswomen 21st-century English memoirists 21st-century English women writers Autism activists English people of Austrian descent English people of German-Jewish descent Philanthropists from the West Midlands (county) Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire British disability rights activists English computer scientists Fellows of the British Computer Society Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Female fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering German people of Austrian descent Kindertransport refugees Living people Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Presidents of the British Computer Society Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom People from Dortmund People from Sutton Coldfield People from Oswestry 21st-century British women engineers British health activists British women memoirists Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) Jewish women philanthropists Jewish British philanthropists