Founded by employers across the recruitment, tech, and social enterprise fields, the Tech Talent Charter (TTC) brings together industries and organisations to drive diversity and address gender imbalance in technology roles. The government supported the TTC in its UK Digital Strategy policy paper published in March 2017.

By signing the Charter, QA and other signatories pledge to increase diversity in attraction and recruitment, implement diversity strategies, and contribute their UK employment diversity data to a central TTC database.

"Only 17% of UK tech and ICT workers are female, and digital talent is crucial for the future of the UK economy," says QA Learning Managing Director Lisa Harrington. "To inspire the next generation of technology workers, we need to find ways to attract people from all walks of life to boost diversity in the tech industry. We're proud to become a signatory of the Tech Talent Charter as we continue to strive to encourage more women in tech.

"We recognise the importance of 'walking the talk' in tackling the gender gap in tech, and we look forward to working with the TTC and other employers to take concrete actions towards this goal. We really encourage others to get on board and take this pledge along with us - and many other major players in the tech space."

Earlier this year QA launched its Return | (Retrain) programme - a returner programme that aims to support parent returners into a tech education career. The initiative is a key component in QA's overall plan to proactively address the tech industry diversity challenge. QA's commitment to the TTC will see it broadening this programme of activities, taking influence and best practise from other TTC signatories.

 "It's vital for the industry to come together as a whole to do more to show females that a career in technology is incredibly rewarding; to increase the number of females working within the industry; to attract people who are considering a career change; and to encourage younger generations to consider these careers from the word go," says Tech Talent Charter CEO Debbie Forster. "One single company can't do it alone, which is why we're asking organisations to pledge their support for the Tech Talent Charter and join us on our exciting journey."