It was difficult for an ambitious woman to establish a profession in the 1950s. Even more so for women who work in technology.
Just ask one of the first computer programmers, Dame Steve Shirley, a British entrepreneur, technology pioneer, and philanthropist who also founded a groundbreaking software company with nearly all female employees.
Dame Steve offered some of her special views with today’s women in tech while speaking to an audience of Amazon employees at an event organized by Prime Video Women in Tech London and Women at Amazon UK.
The significance of fortitude and patience
Dame Steve, who was born in Dortmund to a Jewish father, was among the hundreds of young immigrants saved by the Kindertransport, and she arrived in Britain at the age of five in 1939.
She settled into her new life in the Midlands quickly, and as a young lady in the mid-1950s, she learnt to be self-reliant and made the most of her opportunities. This resilience would later prove to be one of her greatest assets as a businessman.
While working as a computer builder and early code writer at the Post Office Research Station in North West London, Dame Steve came to an unsettling realization.
She clarified, “There was always a feeling of discontent in that job.” “It was just that the men were paid more.” There, I reached my glass ceiling, so I decided to handle things myself.
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