Frequently asked questions
General
The Tech Talent Charter (TTC) is a government-supported, industry-led membership group that brings together 700+ Signatory organisations and equips them with the networks and resources to drive their diversity and inclusion efforts. Our broad base of Signatories includes companies and industries of all sizes, non-profit organisations, charities, leading UK educators, and government departments.
The TTC was created in 2015 to address the UK’s tech talent shortage and diversity problem through collective action and our goal is for the UK tech ecosystem to be a diverse and inclusive community where people from all backgrounds are welcomed and valued for their contributions.
Just 19% of UK IT specialists are women and 18% are ethnic minorities. With an estimated 870,000 vacancies in digital and technology in the UK, it is clear we are not attracting and including all of the available talent. This costs our economy an estimated £63 billion each year.
Beyond the skills gap, a report from McKinsey states that the business case for diversity and inclusion is stronger than ever, with the relationship between diversity on executive teams and the likelihood of financial outperformance strengthening over time.
The TTC brings together our broad base of 700+ Signatories (including companies and industries of all sizes, non-profit organisations, charities, leading UK educators, and government departments) and equips them with the networks and resources to drive their diversity and inclusion efforts.
For diversity and inclusion strategies to be truly impactful, we must build an inclusive culture for all.
In our early days, the TTC focused solely on the lens of gender with the intention of building out our work to include a broad range of visible and invisible lenses. We have now broadened our scope, looking to surface and share what works and what doesn't to create greater diversity and inclusion in relation to ethnicity, age, disability, orientation, social inclusion, mental health, neurodiversity, and wider forms of intersectional diversity.
Membership is free due to the generosity of our Principal Partners and our work builds upon the contributions from our Signatories. We are focused on action and measurable insights, so we require TTC Signatories to make a number of commitments. This includes providing a senior-level sponsor, having a plan in place to improve inclusion, collaborating with our membership, and submitting annual diversity data.
In addition to gaining access to valuable insights, resources, networks, and tools that can be used to drive diversity and inclusion, membership demonstrates your organisation’s commitment to driving inclusion, enhancing your brand as an employer of choice.
To learn more, please join one of our introductory 'Joining the TTC' sessions.
To learn more about the items we ask members to commit to and the benefits of TTC membership, please visit our sign up page.
The TTC deliberately and explicitly acknowledges that it will take time for a Signatory to achieve all the pledges and each Signatory undertakes to “define its own timetable for change and implement the strategy that is right for their organisation (acknowledging that all signatories will have different starting points)”.
Please keep your company's key contacts current by completing the relevant forms on this page when there is a change:
https://www.techtalentcharter.co.uk/updateyourcontacts
All contacts can update their communication preferences and unsubscribe at any time. If a key contact unsubscribes from TTC communications we will ask for an alternative contact.
Data
To find out more about the questions asked in our annual data submission survey, please see the 2022 data collection information page.
The belief that “what isn’t measured isn’t managed” is a key underpinning of the TTC. One of the four pledges of a TTC Signatory is to measure your employee diversity and to share that data with our team. All data is anonymised and aggregated, which allows your organisation to benchmark your diversity position – which only you can see – across the TTC Signatory group (700+ organisations).
The aggregated data provided by each organisation enables us to provide a unique lens on diversity and inclusion in tech in the UK. Our annual Diversity in Tech report provides benchmarking and insights into what is working to improve D&I.
A basic data set is required from all Signatories, that we would expect all organisations to already hold in their HR systems. This data is gathered annually (typically in summer and autumn) and submitted online via a Typeform survey. We may also request for further data can be entered on an optional basis, enabling richer insight and analysis.
Please note that no personal data is gathered at any point and all data is covered by NDA.
To find out more about the questions asked in our annual data submission survey, see the 2022 data collection information page.
We use your data to create an annual Diversity in Tech report, which showcases the curated D&I information we amass from our Signatory base of companies with tech needs in the UK. The 2021 Diversity in Tech report used data from 580 organisations and 196,179 people working in technical roles in the UK. We estimate that this represents around 15-16% of the current tech-skilled labour force — making this one of the largest, broadest, and most up-to-date available datasets of its kind. Through the provision of data in this report, we are able to provide a unique lens on D&I alongside actionable insights and benchmarking information.
GDPR
The D&I data we collect from you in our survey does not fall under GDPR because we do not collect personal information relating to individuals. All D&I numeric data is requested as an aggregated number.
Whilst we do ask for the email address of a key contact at the start of the survey, so that we can send you a copy of your responses and confirm your organisation has submitted data, this is an email address that you gave us legitimate consent to store under GDPR when you signed up to be part of TTC. There is no other data relevant to GDPR that we request during the survey.
You can view our data protection and privacy policy here.
Confidentiality
In terms of the confidentiality of your data, if your data could make individuals or your company identifiable due to a small sample size, we will aggregate the data into a larger sample to protect your confidentiality. We will also omit this data from our reports if it becomes possible to deduce your organisation's information.
In the past we have sought permission from specific organisations to include segments of your response in our reports, either anonymously or attributed, according to the specific Signatory's request. We will never publish information from your response without your permission in writing from your organisation's designated contacts.
Where Signatories give us permission to do so, we will continue to keep the data submission on file for the purposes of record keeping and D&I insights. The majority of Signatories have given permission in the past for their submission's to be kept on file for this purpose. Any use of your survey responses will always prioritise maintaining confidentiality and anonymity in any public forum and your response will only be used for the purpose of the TTCs D&I work.
If you would like to discuss this with us because your organisation has alternative needs, please contact Karen Blake: karen.blake@techtalentcharter.co.uk.
Tools and platforms we use
We collect your data using a secure platform called Typeform, which is a commonly used survey tool.
At the end of the survey period, we download the responses into a spreadsheet which is stored in a restricted file in TTCs Google Work Suite.
NDAs
TTC has a standard NDA available to sign with Signatories if desired. If your organisation would like an NDA in place, please contact us using hello@techtalentcharter.co.uk and we can send you our standard NDA to countersign and keep on file.
To get a clearer sense of how we use your data, please view our most recent Diversity in Tech report.
The annual report allows companies to measure their own data against the TTC's wider Signatory group, as well as companies of similar size, sector, etc.
Data is the way in which we cut through our assumptions. It enables us to have tough conversations in an informed and productive way and to identify the most promising solutions. This is why submitting diversity data is one of four things a company must commit to when signing up to the TTC. We know that simply having this data recorded does not result in a more diverse workforce. It’s a vital first step but must be linked to action. Our intention is to support organisations, particularly those early on in their D&I journey, who wish to develop their D&I data strategy to be as inclusive and thorough as possible. We do this through the various elements within our toolkit.
The 2021 Diversity in Tech report uses data from 580 organisations.
Data gathering opened on 12 July 2022. The deadline is end of the day 6 October 2022. Companies have three months to complete their submission and our team is on standby to help, should you need any support.
The 2022 data collection information is now available and you can access it on our 2022 data collection information page.
You can also join one of our data collection information sessions, where you can raise questions.
Engagement
To help you carry the message into your organisation and obtain buy-in to sign up, the following materials are available to download:
- The TTC commitments one-pager
- What is the Tech Talent Charter (TTC)? video
- Our TTC information pack, which is aimed as a board-level presentation
- This webpage with its set of frequently asked questions, and a data-specific page for those who have questions related to our annual data collection
To put your TTC plan into action, there is a range of supporting materials available on our toolkit page, which includes our Open Playbook and our Diversity in Tech Report.
We host regular events where organisations share their experiences. This includes Joining the TTC sessions for those who are interested in becoming a Signatory, but have questions about the TTC and the potential benefits for their organisation. We also host New to the TTC sessions that help you leverage and maximise your membership.
When your organisation becomes a TTC Signatory, a pack of promotional material becomes available, including the TTC logo, draft tweets, and press releases for you to adapt.
New Signatories will be publicised using a multi-channel approach (including social media). This helps the TTC to demonstrate our growth and positions your organisation as an employer of choice.
If you receive a press or social media enquiry or opportunity that you would like to discuss, please contact alicia.mcewan@techtalentcharter.co.uk.
If you would like to learn more about promoting your involvement, please join one of our New to the TTC sessions.
The vision of the DCMS includes “leading the digital revolution to make the UK the most competitive and innovative market in the world”. They are supporting a range of initiatives to improve the digital skills of the nation, including the TTC. They are a Principal Partner and work closely with us.
The TTC deliberately and explicitly acknowledges that it will take time for a Signatory to achieve all the pledges. You do need to have a senior leader overseeing the work, to have an action plan and deliver on it, and be willing to share anonymised data, but all this doesn’t have to be operational upon signing.
Organisations join the TTC not because they have fixed D&I, but because they are committed to the journey. If you have questions, please sign up for one of our Joining the TTC sessions.
While the main focus of the TTC is the work of Signatory organisations, we recognise there are individuals who wish to advocate and support change in this space. Individual TTC supporters are welcome at all TTC events and can contribute to workstreams and further development of best practice content without their organisations (or employer) being Signatories.
If you wish to support the TTC, please consider signing up to be one of our Ambassadors. This is a six-month commitment where you contribute from your area of expertise.
It’s great that there are now so many strands of activity, as the challenges related to diversity and inclusion need tackling on many fronts at once. We don’t want to reinvent the wheel so we signpost to many of the initiatives in the ecosystem, rather than create new ones. We encourage these groups to become TTC Signatories and we signpost and partner with them whenever possible.
We welcome recruitment agencies as Signatories. We have a number of very active recruiter Signatories who recognise this is a great opportunity to promote their work on D&I.
All recruiters must submit data both as employers of tech in their own right as well as some D&I data on their candidates.
If you would like to learn more, please sign up for a Joining the TTC session.
Governance
The TTC was founded by a number of organisations across the recruitment, tech, and social enterprise fields, including Monster.co.uk, Code First Girls, Stemettes, Apps for Good, RBI, Michael Page, S3 Group, JLR Solutions, and Global Radio. From early 2017, engagement widened further to Nationwide, the BBC, Aptum, Tech UK, Tech London Advocates, and the Cabinet Office.
Since 2017, the TTC has grown its Signatory base rapidly with the support of the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), who are leading on the UK digital skills agenda for the current government. We have more than 700 Signatories who are committed to driving greater diversity and inclusion in tech.
The TTC is a Community Interest Company (CIC) and we are run as a non-for-profit organisation.
The TTC has a board of 5 directors who work closely with our leadership team. Members of both groups can be found on our About the TTC page.
The TTC also meets quarterly with our Principal Partners. In these meetings, where we report on our activity and progress, and seek their advice and input related to our strategy direction.
Are you ready to join us in driving greater workforce diversity?
In addition to gaining access to valuable insights, resources, networks, and tools that can be used to drive diversity and inclusion, membership also demonstrates your organisation's commitment to driving inclusion, enhancing your brand as an employer of choice.
How can we help?
I need more information
I need to get my company on board with the business case and what being a Signatory will mean. Register for a Joining the TTC session.
I'm ready to become a Signatory
I'm ready to formally become a TTC Signatory and publicise my company's commitment to inclusion and diversity in tech roles
I'm already a Signatory
I am ready to drive diversity and inclusion in my workforce. Show me the TTC toolkit and the events page