Should Tech Bros Be Working with Tech Mums? | Prof Sue Black | TEDxDurham

Quick Overview

Professor Sue Black successfully campaigned to save Bletchley Park and subsequently founded TechUPWomen, an initiative that has drastically improved the confidence, employment, and financial stability of hundreds of mothers and women from underserved communities by training them in tech skills.

Key Points: Sue Black started her campaign to save Bletchley Park after being asked by a friend in 2008 about its importance, leading to a BBC News feature (00:03-00:05, 11:44). Before TechUPWomen, 52% of participants were unemployed, and the average salary for those working part-time was £16,000, showing significant economic disadvantage (15:26). After the intervention, 46% of participants moved into tech jobs or apprenticeships, and the average salary for former part-time workers rose to £23,800, demonstrating reduced inequalities (15:26). Black founded TechUPWomen to teach tech skills to mothers in disadvantaged areas, aiming to provide them with thriving, sustainable careers (15:00, 15:06). The speaker recounts personal hardship, including escaping domestic violence and being a single parent, which motivated her career shift and advocacy (00:51-02:04, 04:09-04:22). The program has trained 600 women in six years, with success shown by the post-intervention data indicating improvements across fun, usefulness, ease, resilience, and confidence in technology (15:23-15:39).

Context: The talk is delivered by Professor Sue Black at TEDxDurham, where she recounts her personal journey from challenging circumstances, including escaping domestic violence and raising children as a single parent, to becoming a Professor of Computer Science. A significant part of her story focuses on her successful advocacy to save Bletchley Park, which led to her founding TechUPWomen, an organization dedicated to empowering mothers and women from disadvantaged backgrounds through technology education.

Detailed Analysis

Professor Sue Black shares her personal narrative, starting with a difficult childhood marked by her mother's sudden death when she was 12, leading to emotional hardship and bullying. She worked to support herself and her children, eventually moving to London and later pursuing education in mathematics and computer science despite facing financial and personal adversity, including domestic violence from her first husband. A turning point involved campaigning to save Bletchley Park, which gained national attention (including a BBC News feature in 2008) and connected her with influential figures like Stephen Fry, who tweeted about the cause in 2009. This advocacy inspired her to create TechUPWomen, a program designed to teach tech skills to mothers from disadvantaged backgrounds. The program has achieved significant success: 600 women have been trained over six years. Data presented shows that before the program, 52% of participants were unemployed; afterward, 46% entered jobs or apprenticeships in technology, and average salaries increased significantly across all employment levels, demonstrating reduced inequality. Black concludes by emphasizing the positive impact the program has on the women's lives and self-esteem, encouraging the audience to maximize their own single life opportunities.