December 18th, 1987, just days before Christmas, age 25 Sue Black found herself forced to a refuge centre with her three young children. Seeking safety, no qualifications, no money. Most people couldn’t begin to imagine what they’d do in this situation or how to move forward. But Black did. She did move forward. She kept going and she didn’t stop.
Today she is a leading technologist, academic and campaigner who has founded multiple industry-leading initiatives to help women get into technology roles. In 2016, she was awarded an OBE for services to technology.
“If you could be free from the challenges that you’ve got now, what would you want to be doing? What do you really care about?”
Growing up, sadly Black lost her mother at age just 12. She suffered both emotional and physical abuse and dropped out of A-level studies during her first year. She moved to London where she met her now ex-husband and had her three children. Just a short time later she found herself at the refuge centre.
With sheer grit and determination Black pursued further education, initially completing a maths course at college before going on to study computing at university and later obtaining a PhD in software engineering. Despite the challenges of juggling her studies alongside being a single parent she never wavered in her pursuit of knowledge and personal growth. Once she was offered a full-time lectureship, she finally had a proper salary coming into her bank. A huge step for her and her family.
Outside of her academic achievements Black also led the campaign to save Bletchley Park, raising £4.1 million to preserve the WWII code breaking site where 75% of the 10,000 staff were women. She emphasises the importance of mentors and has helped countless women with her initiatives to support them into technology roles.
“You can turn your life around, but you've got to keep going towards where you want to be.”
