Originally published here.

Top executive Sheree Atcheson is determined to help other women excel in tech careers.

The Irish computer scientist is considered one of the UK’s most influential women in technology, but to suggest she managed to break the glass ceiling would be both an insult and an understatement.

“The problem with that expression is that it does not take into consideration that not all women are equal and do not have the same battles. Some women never get the chance at having a glass ceiling to break.”

Her multiple award wins, involvement in the global expansion of a non-profit organisation, which tackles gender inequality and works promoting diversity, have all helped her rise up the ranks of the tech sector. The life she now lives, which she describes as “privileged”, is very different to the one she experienced growing up.

When she was just three weeks old, Ms Atcheson was adopted from Sri Lanka by a Tyrone couple. She was raised in the rural town of Coalisland, where she and her brother David – who was also adopted – were the only people of colour.

“We faced a lot of racism growing up. After you get past the cute baby stage, that’s when it starts. Some of it was quite aggressive. We were often called the N-word word and the P- Word.

“Ireland in the 1990s is not the same Ireland that exists now. It’s much more multicultural and embraces people of all different backgrounds. Now when I go home, I’m no longer the only person of colour.”

Ms Atcheson attended a Catholic secondary school and at 18 she went to Queen’s University Belfast to study computer science.

“My family was not wealthy and I grew up on free school meals. I was able to go to university thanks to receiving a lot of grants and bursaries.”

After graduating, she worked in a number of software engineering roles, but was struck by the lack of diversity in the companies that hired her.

This inspired her to become involved with Women Who Code (WWCode), a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology by helping women excel in tech careers.

Ms Atcheson was appointed as an expansion director and branched out the organisation to Ireland and the UK, bringing it to Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh and Bristol.

After working with Deloitte as a technology consultant, she decided making workplaces more inclusive was where her true passion lay – so she turned it into her full-time job.

She is now global director of diversity and inclusion with Valtech, a business transformation agency.

Her role involves leading and developing Valtech’s approach to diversity and inclusion through a data-driven strategy.

She doesn’t just want to increase the amount of women working in science, tech, engineering and maths (STEM) – she also wants to make sure they’re from different backgrounds.

“People regularly assume when we talk about bias, we’re talking about gender only. Yes, women face barriers, but there are also people of different race, age, disability and ethnicity.

“In my day-to-day life, even outside of work, I face a lot of adversity when it comes to being a woman of colour. I’ve had people earlier in my career comment on my thick Tyrone accent. I’ve had comments being made on my background as someone who doesn’t come from money or financial privilege.

“It’s important for people to recognise when we continue to work on gender diversity that we push the boundaries and make sure that women we hire are not all predominantly from the same type of group, and to make sure we’re reaching new voices.”

Despite being just 30 years of age, Ms Atcheson has already accomplished much in her career. The pandemic didn’t put a stop to her achievements. In March 2020, she signed a book deal and is now a published author. Demanding More: Why Diversity and Inclusion Don’t Happen and What You Can Do About It was named as one of the Financial Times’ top reads for summer 2021.

She also recently added to her array of awards after winning the coveted Grace Hopper Award at the Diversity in Tech Awards, organised by Dublin Tech Summit. The award is presented to the outstanding young computer professional of the year.

But while she experienced significant highs over the last 19 months, she has also suffered huge loss. Her father George passed away in November last year.

To mark his one-year anniversary, she is going to see US rock band The Offspring – which is the first concert he ever brought her to.

“I know he was proud of me. He used to bring newspaper clippings to the nurses if he had a hospital appointment. I remember the Tyrone Times had a two-page spread and he bought four copies.”

Ms Atcheson is a regular contributor to UK media for her views on the tech industry, but she has also made international headlines for her personal life.

After marrying her long-time partner Sean McCrory, they decided to honeymoon in her birth country Sri Lanka. The trip inspired her to try to track down her biological family. “There was never anything missing, but I was always curious,” she said.

“There were four photos that my dad had taken of my birth mother, she was 25 at the time and it was like looking in a mirror.”

She contacted Newsfirst Sri Lanka, which shared her appeal for information and set up a hotline for people to ring in.

“They put those photos on the primetime news and someone recognised her. We got in contact, did a DNA test and it was her. It was a very unique experience. We had to speak via an interpreter but unfortunately it was difficult to keep in touch.”

Details of her successful career encouraged thousands of Sri Lankan people to message her, describing her as a “role model”.

“It didn’t sit well with me as I thought there must be so many people from Sri Lanka who deserve to have their achievements showcased.

“That’s why I decided to set up I Am Lanka, a social responsibility project that allows local Sri Lankan people to have their stories told by highlighting local role models working to help and inspire people.”

Last week she also reached another huge milestone in her life – finally getting her hands on an Irish passport. In an emotional post on LinkedIn, she said it “feels like the final tick in the box”.

“Being Irish is something very important to me – it’s where my family is and where I was raised. I’ve spoken at the Irish embassy on St Brigid’s Day, I’ve won awards from phenomenal Irish institutions and I was Queen’s University Belfast’s 2019 grad of the year – and the first woman of colour to ever win this award in their 20 years of existence.

“Last year, I applied for my Irish passport. Being adopted, it was not a smooth process, with lots of hoops to jump through because of my adoption being inter-country and registered on the British register.”

The significant challenges she’s had to overcome influenced her desire to help other women and those from working-class backgrounds.

“Glass ceilings exist for some women. Concrete roofs exist for others.”

You can read the complete article here.