# Tech Talent Charter

**Bringing together organisations to drive greater diversity and inclusion in technology**

## Reflecting on Tech Talent Charter’s journey and the reasons behind our closure

The Tech Talent Charter (TTC), the UK non-profit dedicated to advancing diversity and inclusion (D&I) within the tech sector, concluded its operations in late summer 2024. This decision followed an extensive market review, which uncovered shifting priorities and operational pressures threatening the progress of D&I efforts across the industry. The review highlighted that progress for diverse representation was stalling with significant economic pressures and a troubling trend where D&I efforts were increasingly being sidelined or merged into broader but shallower remits. The TTC’s 2024 Diversity in Tech Report highlighted how many organizations faced similar challenges, with dedicated D&I budgets becoming restricted or diminished, impeding the sustainability and effectiveness of these initiatives.

Founded in 2015, when women occupied fewer than 15% of tech roles in the UK, the TTC emerged as a vital voice for advocacy and change. Government-supported and industry-led, it engaged with more than 850 tech employers of all sizes, non-profit organisations, charities, leading UK educators, and government departments who committed to its mission. The TTC amassed and shared D&I best practices, analysed diversity data from nearly a quarter of a million tech workers annually, and played a crucial role in nearly doubling the sector’s female employment statistics. It drove the DEI agenda in tech and broadened awareness across various diversity dimensions, including ethnicity, neurodiversity, and socio-economic status, making its findings and resources accessible to organizations of all sizes.

The TTC’s closure is a call to action for the industry to reassess and invigorate its D&I efforts. By embracing this inflection point, we aim to inspire renewed focus and investment, ultimately driving sustainable change and fostering a tech sector that thrives on diversity and inclusion in the years to come.

## A heartfelt thank you to our Signatories, Principal and Supporting Partners

These organisations are leading the strategic response to the digital skills crisis, supporting the government’s aim to have the UK recognised as a “Science and Tech Superpower by 2030” and helping to drive diversity and inclusion in the tech ecosystem. Their investment and collective support in the Tech Talent Charter ensured free access and membership for all of our Signatories.

“We are proud of what the Tech Talent Charter has accomplished and the lasting impact we’ve made by collaborating with remarkable individuals and organizations. But if we are true to our mission, it is vital to understand when it is time to start the new chapter, however difficult that may be. Closing the Tech Talent Charter opens the door for frank conversations about how to re-frame the business case and create an even greater impact. We have established a new base camp for DEI in Tech, and now it is time to plan the next journey for the next wave of impact. There is still so much to do. We look forward to helping make that happen.”

Debbie Forster and Karen Blake,

Co-CEOs at Tech Talent Charter