Sheridan Ash MBE: I got agitated at school over how girls and women were treated differently

Tech She Can founder speaks to CRN for our DEI in Action series about her passion for equality since the age of 13, and how she battled her way to success despite leaving school with no qualifications and undiagnosed dyslexia

“I left school with zero qualifications and no career prospects”.

It is hard to believe that someone who has set up a nationally-recognised charity that helps young people, particularly women, secure work in the tech industry, and who was awarded an MBE in 2020 for her work helping young people and women start careers in tech, was labelled a ‘dumbo’ at school because she was coping with undiagnosed dyslexia.

But Sheridan Ash MBE, overcame adversity through sheer hard work and determination, and also has a global fashion modelling career under her belt to boot.

“Dyslexia wasn't recognised in those days and words like dumbo and stupid were used a lot. I remember being annoyed when I was 13 by girls having to do needlework and typing when the boys got to do metalwork or woodwork,” she said. “I started a petition outside the school and got the local press involved. They did change it! I was always curious about the way things were and remember thinking I'm not accepting things the way they are. But I did leave school as a great welder even though I had no qualifications!”

Adversity breeds success

“I got a lucky break – I was very tall, very blonde and was spotted in London while out shopping,” she explained. “I ended up as a fashion model, and got to travel the world walking on catwalks– Milan, Paris, New York – then I ended up being a single mum and decided I had to do something about this and get some stability into my life.”

After getting help for her dyslexia, she re-entered the education system, got a degree, worked in the NHS in the pharmaceutical sector and then went onto achieve an MBA at Imperial College.

“It was really tough to do that – in fact both degrees were tough being dyslexic – but I got help all the way through and I was the first person in my family to get a degree. From that I pivoted into tech, using all those relatable skills to get me through. I went to Accenture with my health background and becoming a leader in tech there – leading the biggest national UK tech programme at the time. I then followed my old Accenture boss to PWC and set up a tech practice there,” she explained.

“It was there I started to understand the issue around diversity in the tech practice. I went and spoke to the board and managed to get a meeting with board members. There was a tech leadership team but it was all white males. I was asked to join that team and they implemented everything I said. Within five years that number had gone up to 40 per cent. By the time I left, it was still hovering at 40 per cent and I'm extremely proud of that.”

Tech She Can emerges

Ash explained concerns were increasing over the lack of young women coming through to the tech practice while she was building it. And it was here that the first iteration of Tech She Can was born.

“It was also noticed by our clients that we were all fighting over the same pool [of people]. I wanted to understand what was putting off the young women coming through. I did some research work for the board and delivered the overall tech and innovation strategy for PwC, then launched the initiative and ran it out of PwC for a while, including during the pandemic.”

Tech She Can was eventually spun out of PWC as a charity five years ago after Ash realised it ‘had legs’.

“We had 25 countries tuning into the live lessons we were providing for children during the pandemic, and I realised we had something,” Ash said. “We started with one employee and some of my PwC team seconded in there, but now we have over 20 people employed, committed funding from 18 organisations, and a contingency workforce when we have a lot of heavy programmes on.”

The charity supports young people – both male and female - from as young as five, up to 24 years old with lessons, support and educational material encouraging them to consider a career in tech. Ash also sits on numerous boards and panels, including one for the Department for Education (DfE), and is determined to keep fighting for a positive future for young people in the tech industry, by securing funding support from as many corners of the industry as possible.

But the work is only really beginning, Ash said. In a previous conversation she urged more SMEs to get behind the charity and help young people get into the workplace through work experience placements.

Tech She Can is also keen to encourage young men to be a support to women in the industry, she added.

“We have to bust myths. All our materials have female role models that girls can relate to, but it also shows boys that women can do anything,” she said.