Tech Talent Charter to close

The Tech Talent Charter (TTC), the UK non-profit focused on driving diversity and inclusion (D&I) across the tech sector, closed its operations late Summer 2024.

The decision was made following a thorough market review, which identified the shifting priorities and operational pressures faced by UK tech employers. This situation is jeopardizing the progress of diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts across the sector. The review highlighted the economic pressures on the tech industry, as well as a trend of D&I initiatives being sidelined and given lower priority across the sector. The TTC’s 2024 annual Diversity in Tech Report revealed that many organizations are facing similar pressures, with D&I initiatives being restricted, postponed, or incorporated into broader employee well-being programs. Additionally, for many, dedicated budgets for D&I are stalling or decreasing, posing challenges to the sustainability and effectiveness of this work.

The Tech Talent Charter believes that an industry-wide reset is needed to prevent the loss or reverse of precious progress on D&I and ensure the sector’s business resilience.

Founded in 2015, when women held fewer than 15% of tech roles in the UK, the TTC has been a convening voice and advocacy organisation, working with more than 850 tech employers who signed up as Signatories to support its goals. Over the last 9 years it has gathered D&I best practice and insights, collected and analysed diversity data representing almost a quarter of a million tech workers each year, helped steer the sector to almost double its female employment statistics, as well as raise awareness and advocacy of multiple diversity lenses, including ethnicity, neurodiversity and socio-economic status. It published annual reports on the progress of D&I and the approaches that made a real impact on building diversity. All this information was made freely available to any sized organisation who wanted to improve and mature their diversity and inclusion.

Co-CEO and co-founder Debbie Forster commented; “We are at a pivotal moment for the future of the UK’s tech sector. Great progress has been made but now too many companies are “quiet quitting” D&I, and there is real risk of going backwards. We hope our decision to close will create a point of reflection and inflection that will lead to greater commitment to drive real change across the sector. We believe this decision, while tough to make, is the right thing to do at a time when D&I needs a reset and a new approach to ensure the longevity of the UK tech economy.”

Co-CEO Karen Blake added, “We have had the privilege of working with many great organizations that prioritize inclusion and diversity. We are pleased that our long-time collaborators, techUK, will support our legacy by continuing to make our research and resources freely available to support an industry that is still in dire need of change. The directors of the TTC remain committed to continuing to work with the industry and government to drive real progress on D&I.”

“Our decision to close is driven by the hope that it will amplify the need for renewed focus. We believe this inflection point is essential to refocusing efforts, refining methods, and driving greater commitment and investment at a systemic, industry, and regional level. The next chapter will allow us to more deeply drive the impact the industry to thrive in the next ten years and support the technologically inclusive society we want to see.”