PwC’s Sheridan Ash awarded MBE in Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to young girls and women through technology

This weekend, Sheridan Ash, PwC UK’s Technology & Innovation and Women in Technology leader, was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Sheridan, who founded the Tech She Can Charter in 2018, has been recognised for services to young girls and women through technology. 

Sheridan saw the need for the Tech She Can Charter after commissioning research which showed that just 27% of A-level and university age females said they were interested in careers in technology, compared to 62% of males. The research also found that just 3% of females would list technology as their number one choice of career. 

With PwC backing, and starting with an initial group of 18 supporting organisations, Tech She Can has now grown to a group of 172 organisations, including Natwest, Zoopla, Rolls Royce, Tesco, Credit Suisse and the Royal Air Force. All are working together to educate and inspire young girls and women to pursue careers in technology.

Under Sheridan’s leadership, Tech She Can formed two work streams focused on enriching education and overhauling the image of women in tech. 

In September 2019, the education workstream launched ‘Tech We Can’, a website where schools and teachers can download free lesson plans aimed at 10-13 year old boys and girls. The lesson plans showcase the breadth and depth of tech careers and highlight real life role models, especially female, from across the Tech She Can organisations. 

During lockdown, the team quickly pivoted to meet a growing need for homeschooling content, running 10 weekly Tech We Can Tuesday lessons to support parents and carers homeschooling.  To date there have been nearly 4000 views of these lessons and the equivalent of 150 classrooms full of students have taken part, in countries ranging from the UK to Australia, Greece, India, Nigeria, South Africa, Thailand, the USA and Qatar.

Sheridan has championed these external initiatives alongside her day job as the Technology & Innovation and Women in Tech leader at PwC. Her leadership in these roles has contributed to an increase in the number of women in technology roles within PwC’s business - from 14% to 31%. Sheridan is now sharing how PwC achieved this with other Tech She Can organisations to help them with their own diversity goals.

Sheridan Ash MBE, PwC Technology & Innovation and Women in Technology leader and Tech She Can founder, said:

“I’m completely shocked and delighted to have been recognised in this way. Working hand-in-hand with others is at the heart of everything we’ve achieved so far, and the fact that Tech She Can has grown so much in such a short space of time shows the passion so many people and organisations have to drive real change for young women and girls. It has been an honour to work with so many inspiring people who have made Tech She Can what it is today. 

“In a world full of uncertainty and change, I believe equality of opportunity is critically important. Success in inspiring more women into careers in technology while equipping the workforce of the future with the skills they’ll need to thrive will be essential for the future of business and the UK’s ability to build back better through truly inclusive technological innovation.”

Ends.

Notes to editors

1. Sheridan Ash is available for interviews. Please contact Ellie Raven, PwC Corporate Affairs, on 07525 925 830 or ellie.raven@pwc.com  

2. To find out more about the Tech She Can Charter, visit https://www.pwc.co.uk/who-we-are/women-in-technology/tech-she-can-charter.html

3. To sign up for the Tech We Can lessons, visit https://techwecan.org/