She fled Nazi Germany as a five-year-old girl refugee, called herself ‘Steve’ to help her advance in a male-dominated world and regularly faced sexist behaviour in the workplace. Now, business pioneer Dame Stephanie Shirley, 80, has told the young women of today that they have ‘got it dead easy’ compared to those of her generation. The retired business leader and philanthropist said the law was no longer holding back woman - and insisted: ‘Today's young women, I don't know what they're complaining about’. 'I don't know what they're complaining about': Dame Stephanie Shirley (pictured), 80, has told the young women of today that they have 'got it dead easy' compared to those of her generation . She told the Telegraph Ways With Words festival in Dartington, Devon: ‘There's nothing holding women back. The law is pure. There's very little in this country that is legally overtly discriminatory. ‘It's all cultural issues that you cannot legislate against. We as women and individuals have to learn to work within that culture and perhaps to change that culture.’ Dame Stephanie Shirley was born in Dortmund in 1933 but fled Germany for Britain as a five-year-old, where she was taken in by a childless couple in the West Midlands. She founded the business technology group that became Xansa in 1962, and two years later her physicist husband David suggested she changed her name to Steve to help her progress in the business world. Retiring in 1993, she has donated £135million to charities worldwide - which accounts for 90 per cent of her technology empire. Much of this has gone to autism charities, after her only child Giles died aged 35 in 1998 from a fit connected to his autism. The peer, of Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, went to school in Staffordshire before later studying at Birkbeck, University of London. Some 23 years after arriving in Britain as a wartime refugee in 1939, Dame Stephanie founded software company F I Group (which became Xansa) - and found it advantageous to sign off letters using the name of ‘Steve’. She only employed only women until this was made illegal by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, and retired in 1993 with an estimated £150million wealth she built through the IT industry. Dame Stephanie added that sexist behaviour was ‘pretty bad in my day’ - adding that men regularly pinched her bottom. But she added that a quota system would be a bad idea to bring more women into senior positions, because both sexes should be ‘measured by the same criteria’. It comes after she told the Jewish Chronicle two months ago: 'I’m really disappointed that women today are still talking about doing what I was doing 50 years ago. When things are easy, perhaps we don’t value them as much. 'Many people don’t want to pay the cost of success - the cost to your health, family and life. They don’t want to go there; but either you believe in equality or you don’t. I certainly do.' Four months ago official data revealed that Britain was on course to hit a Government target of 25 per cent female membership of FTSE 100 boards by the end of 2015. Women now hold 21 per cent of board positions at FTSE 100 companies, up from 13 per cent in 2011 and 17 per cent in 2013, according to data from Cranfield School of Management in Bedford.
Dame Stephanie Shirley insists women must work within today's cultural .
Claims: 'I don't know what today's young women are complaining about'
80-year-old philanthropist was speaking at festival in Dartington, Devon .
She famously called herself 'Steve' to help her in male-dominated world .
Dame Stephanie added that sexist behaviour was 'pretty bad in my day'
She fled Nazi Germany as a five-year-old girl refugee, called herself ‘Steve’ to help her advance in a male-dominated world and regularly faced sexist behaviour in the workplace. Now, business pioneer Dame Stephanie Shirley, 80, has told the young women of today that they have ‘got it dead easy’ compared to those of her generation. The retired business leader and philanthropist said the law was no longer holding back woman - and insisted: ‘Today's young women, I don't know what they're complaining about’. 'I don't know what they're complaining about': Dame Stephanie Shirley (pictured), 80, has told the young women of today that they have 'got it dead easy' compared to those of her generation . She told the Telegraph Ways With Words festival in Dartington, Devon: ‘There's nothing holding women back. The law is pure. There's very little in this country that is legally overtly discriminatory. ‘It's all cultural issues that you cannot legislate against. We as women and individuals have to learn to work within that culture and perhaps to change that culture.’ Dame Stephanie Shirley was born in Dortmund in 1933 but fled Germany for Britain as a five-year-old, where she was taken in by a childless couple in the West Midlands. She founded the business technology group that became Xansa in 1962, and two years later her physicist husband David suggested she changed her name to Steve to help her progress in the business world. Retiring in 1993, she has donated £135million to charities worldwide - which accounts for 90 per cent of her technology empire. Much of this has gone to autism charities, after her only child Giles died aged 35 in 1998 from a fit connected to his autism. The peer, of Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, went to school in Staffordshire before later studying at Birkbeck, University of London. Some 23 years after arriving in Britain as a wartime refugee in 1939, Dame Stephanie founded software company F I Group (which became Xansa) - and found it advantageous to sign off letters using the name of ‘Steve’. She only employed only women until this was made illegal by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, and retired in 1993 with an estimated £150million wealth she built through the IT industry. Dame Stephanie added that sexist behaviour was ‘pretty bad in my day’ - adding that men regularly pinched her bottom. But she added that a quota system would be a bad idea to bring more women into senior positions, because both sexes should be ‘measured by the same criteria’. It comes after she told the Jewish Chronicle two months ago: 'I’m really disappointed that women today are still talking about doing what I was doing 50 years ago. When things are easy, perhaps we don’t value them as much. 'Many people don’t want to pay the cost of success - the cost to your health, family and life. They don’t want to go there; but either you believe in equality or you don’t. I certainly do.' Four months ago official data revealed that Britain was on course to hit a Government target of 25 per cent female membership of FTSE 100 boards by the end of 2015. Women now hold 21 per cent of board positions at FTSE 100 companies, up from 13 per cent in 2011 and 17 per cent in 2013, according to data from Cranfield School of Management in Bedford.
refugee, called herself ‘Steve’ to help her business pioneer Dame Stephanie Shirley, 80, has I don't know what they're complaining about’. 'I Dartington, Devon: ‘There's nothing holding women added that sexist behaviour was ‘pretty bad in my