Professor Sue Black: “Diversity really has to be made a genuine priority, or gender parity just won’t happen — it’s got to be embedded in everything we do”

Kate Mowbray
Dec 19, 2019 · 7 min read
Sue Black

Just go for it! If I can do it, so can you, I really do believe that. If there’s something you love doing, you’re likely to succeed at it, and nothing should put you off pursuing that. Being a woman in the tech sector, and the wider STEM industry, is such a fabulous community to be a part of. Come and join us!


had the pleasure of interviewing award winning computer scientist, and technology professor Sue Black. Sue was awarded an OBE for “services to technology”. She is Professor of Computer Science and Technology Evangelist in the Department of Computer Science at Durham University, founder of the #techmums social enterprise, a UK government adviser, thought leader, Trustee at Comic Relief, writer and public speaker. Sue set up the UK’s first online network for women in tech in 1998 and led the campaign to save Bletchley Park. Sue didn’t have a traditional start to her career. She left home and school at 16, married at 20 and had three children by the age of 23. A single parent at 25 she went to university, gained a degree in computing then a PhD in software engineering.

Thank you for speaking with us Sue! Can you tell us a bit about what you do?

I am a Professor of Computer Science and Technology Evangelist at Durham University, where I have been tasked with championing women in tech and supporting wider diversity and outreach initiatives in Computer Science. Throughout my career I have been passionate about helping more women to succeed in the tech industry, and being able to work at an institution like Durham gives me so many opportunities to support the pipeline of women in tech — it’s really rewarding.

Could you tell us a little bit about your background, and how you realised you had a passion for computer science and technology?

I always loved learning, especially maths at school, but I didn’t have a straightforward path into technology. I left home at 16, I then left school too as I found it too hard taking my A levels at the same time as working to pay my rent. I went back into education at 26 studying maths at college which led me onto my degree in computing. I just knew that technology was the future and was going to change the world, and I wanted to be a part of that.

You are now a Professor of Computer Science at Durham University, how did you find yourself in this role? And, what do you enjoy about this position?

Durham’s Head of Computer Science wants the Department to be a game-changer in terms of recruiting more women into technology, and as I’ve spent my life trying to do the same thing, so there was a natural fit in terms of the vision we both want to achieve. A big part of my role is looking at how we can recruit more female students and teaching staff, and make the Department more female-friendly and inclusive in terms of its culture. This has involved getting up to speed with best practice around the world and bringing new ideas to Durham, having the space and support to do that is wonderful. Being a Professor of Computer Science and Technology Evangelist is my dream job, I’ve been here a year and am still loving every single day.

Why do you think a career in computer science is so exciting? And, why should women pursue this career path?

Technology really is the future. It’s everywhere, and is becoming completely integrated into everything we do. It gives us a suite of tools that we can use to solve problems of all sorts from micro-financing women on low incomes to be entrepreneurs and build their own businesses to running taxi services across the world. Making connections in different industries to solve real world problems. There’s also a massive skills shortage in tech, there are so many positions in software development, project management, data science, business analysis, cyber-security and many more that need to be filled. Skills shortages mean that there are many well paid positions for people that take the time, maybe to retrain, to re-imagine their career in the tech sector. Our current TechUPWomen project is taking 100 incredible women from underrepresented groups, the Midlands and the North of the UK, and training them into a tech career in just 6 months part time. It can be done.

What are your three proudest moments of your career?

It’s hard to pick just just three. Accepting the Social Impact Award at the Grace Hopper Celebration in Orlando, Florida in 2017 was an absolute honour. Speaking to the audience of over 17,000 women in tech there, and getting them to repeat after me that they are “going to change the world,” was such a career highlight.

Succeeding in keeping Bletchley Park open was incredible. When I started the campaign I thought it would take just six months and the UK government or a big tech company would come in and save it. It took three years of campaigning by me and many other people in the end before the director of Bletchley Park told me in 2011 that I could stop. By that time I couldn’t actually believe it was all over and that Bletchley Park was going to be OK, it was an incredible feeling.

Becoming a Professor at Durham University has to be my third choice. Having left school at 16 with few qualifications I never would have dreamed that one day I would be a professor at one of the top universities in the world, I still have to pinch myself that I’m really here.

What has been your biggest challenge in your career so far? How did you overcome this?

There have been so many challenges. I’ve really loved my career so far and enjoyed doing my job all the way through but I guess the hardest challenge I’ve come across is being bullied. This has happened several times and at times I’ve found it very hard to cope with. Having both female and male mentors has really helped me to deal with this, without their support I don’t know how I would have coped. I advise everyone to find mentors, several of them, at whatever stage you are at in your career. They have been absolutely instrumental in my success.

Do you think universities around the world need to do more to encourage women to study computer science and pursue this career path? How do you think this could be done?

Yes — absolutely! Getting more women into Computer Science and broader STEM (science technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects is a complex issue which won’t be solved by any one part of the pipeline, but if schools, universities, and industry come together to tackle this head on we will start to see real change.

I believe universities are in an ideal position to take the lead in this. At Durham, we’re working on this all through the pipeline, working with schools to deliver outreach events, proactively trying to recruit more female students through our AMI Women in Tech scholarships, and retraining women later in their career through our TechUP programme. Durham has been great in proactively engaging industry through its alumni networks, too — the Hunt Programme, established by the former CPO of Netflix, has really driven this kind of activity forward in our Department.

Diversity really does have to be made a genuine priority, or gender parity just won’t happen — it’s got to be embedded in everything we do.

What do you believe needs to be done more generally to encourage more women in STEM? Is it something schools, universities and businesses need to be doing better?

Working together seems like a great place to start! At school level the biggest issue is early gender biases around different subject areas, which can be reinforced by parents as well as teachers, whether intentionally or not. This is often compounded by a lack of resource and confidence in schools to engage with computer science as a subject. Universities can play a big part here in working with schools and communities, delivering outreach events, and sharing resources.

This is even more effective and meaningful when industry engage with activities too, they can provide inspirational role models to showcase all of the women doing amazing things in the sector, and can also model inclusive practices themselves to ensure that the women being recruited into tech aren’t ultimately driven out by hostile work environments or toxic macho cultures. There’s no magic bullet, we need lots of initiatives targeting different demographic groups.

If you had one piece of advice for young girls wanting to get into STEM subjects, what would it be?

Just go for it! If I can do it, so can you, I really do believe that. If there’s something you love doing, you’re likely to succeed at it, and nothing should put you off pursuing that. Being a woman in the tech sector, and the wider STEM industry, is such a fabulous community to be a part of. Come and join us!

Authority Magazine

Leadership Lessons from Authorities in Business, Film, Sports and Tech. Authority Mag is devoted primarily to sharing interesting feature interviews of people who are authorities in their industry. We use interviews to draw out stories that are both empowering and actionable.

Kate Mowbray

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Interesting people, ideas and businesses

Authority Magazine

Leadership Lessons from Authorities in Business, Film, Sports and Tech. Authority Mag is devoted primarily to sharing interesting feature interviews of people who are authorities in their industry. We use interviews to draw out stories that are both empowering and actionable.

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