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Steve ShirleyBritish businesswoman and philanthropist originally from Germany
Date of Birth: 16.09.1933
Country:  Great Britain |
Biography of Steve Shirley
Dame Stephanie 'Steve' Shirley was born on September 16, 1933, in Dortmund, Germany. She arrived in Britain as a child, without any accompanying family, as a participant in the 'Kindertransport' rescue operation. She was placed with a foster family in Sutton Coldfield, and later reunited with her biological parents. However, Shirley claims that she was never close to her father and mother.
In 1962, Shirley founded a software development company called 'F.I. Group', later known as 'Xansa'. She was particularly concerned with providing employment opportunities for women with dependents. Prior to the implementation of the Sex Discrimination Act in Britain in 1975, only 3 out of over 300 programmers in Shirley's company were men. In order to facilitate her position in the business world, she even shortened her name from 'Stephanie' to the male version 'Steve'. She officially retired in 1993 at the age of 60 and since then has been actively involved in philanthropy.
Shirley established the charitable trust 'The Shirley Foundation' in 1986 in the UK. Its mission is to support innovative projects of strategic importance in the field of autism spectrum disorder, with a particular focus on medical research. The foundation provides support through grants and loans to various projects. In 1985, Shirley received an award for her contribution to the field of information technology. From 1989 to 1990, she served as the President of the British Computer Society. In 1999, she was awarded the Mountbatten Medal and was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2001.
By the time of her retirement from 'F.I. Group', Shirley had donated approximately £150 million to charitable causes. One of the beneficiaries was the 'Oxford Internet Institute', a multidisciplinary research and teaching part of the University of Oxford.
Shirley's late son, Giles (1963-1998), was autistic, and she became one of the founding members of the National Autistic Society. She initiated and financed research in this field, including through the Autism Research Centre led by Professor Simon Baron-Cohen. Shirley speaks at conferences, delivers lectures worldwide, and maintains constant contact with parents, caregivers, and those dealing with autism and Asperger's syndrome.
In July 2008, she shared her life and ideals in a conversation called 'Give and Take', which is now available online on the Gresham College website. From May 2009 to May 2010, Shirley served as the UK Ambassador for Philanthropy. In 2013, she explained why she had donated over £67 million from her own pocket to various charitable projects during an interview on BBC Radio 2. In her memoir, 'Let It Go' (2012), she writes, "I do it because of my personal history. I need to find justification for being saved."
In February 2013, Shirley was named one of the 100 most influential women in Britain. In January 2014, the British Science Council named her one of the top 100 practicing scientists in the UK.
