Tech Talent Charter’s latest Diversity in UK Tech report has been released, revealing the level of diversity across 708 organisations in the UK, representing close to 977,000 people.

The report revealed important stats on the representation of different genders, sexual orientations, and ethnic minorities, and disabled people in the tech sphere, among lower-level tech workers, senior leaders, and VCs.

While not holding any surprises, the statistics did bring up important changes in how certain companies are reporting diversity, particularly in terms of gender identity, and the disclosure of ethnic minorities.

LGBTQ Representation- The T Does Not Stand for Tech 

According to the data, only 0.17% of tech employees identified as trans compared to 0.5% of the UK 16+ population.

This lack of representation is multifaceted – only one in four companies are measuring trans identity in their workforce, and many transgender people may feel unsafe, unwilling, or unable to disclose this aspect of their identity to their employer even in terms of diversity tracking. Even still, many transmen and transwomen would rightfully just tick the box of man or women in a gender diversity survey, especially if these are the only options, without feeling the need to explain anything more about their gender identity.

Further, only a third of companies recognise non-binary genders in their employee data. Only 0.09% of tech employees reported to be non-binary, based on a sample of 89,000 tech employees at 235 organisations the recognise non-binary genders.

The Diversity report did not offer any specific glimpses into the amount of those of different sexual orientations worked – and were out – in the tech sector.

Gender Equality is Not Looking Up

According to the report, women and non-binary employees account for 29% of the UK tech workforce.

This stat gets more bleak when you dive deeper: only 20% of software engineers are women or non-binary, and only 21% of senior roles are held by women or non-binary people.

And the report shows that this gender imbalance may only increase, as more and more women share their intention of leaving the tech industry altogether, reflecting other surveys reporting the same trend.

If tech’s higher salaries and remote or hybrid work opportunities cannot attract r retain women and non-binary people, then it begs the question of what in tech is driving them away.

Ethnic Diversity

Based on ethnicity data shared by over 140,000 tech employees, there is a relatively high proportion of ethnic minority representation in tech compared to the overall UK workforce.

18% of tech workers in the survey are Asian or British Asian, with 5% being Black, African, Caribbean or Black British, and 2% being mixed or multiple ethnic groups.

71% of those in tech are white, while 81% of those in the UK 2021 benchmark census were white.

While tech may appear more diverse, this is skewed toward London which has a higher level of ethnic diversity in the first place.

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Still, the stats should be promising for the tech sector. However, more than one in five did non share their ethnic information with their employer. The average disclosure rate is 79%, which could mean that some feel uncomfortable sharing their race or ethnicity with their employer.

When looking up the ladder, ethnic diversity decreases, dropping from 25% overall to 14% when looking at senior tech role holders.

Disabilities and Neurodivergence

Only 6% of tech employees reported being disabled, compared to 23% of the wider working age population.

Inclusive hiring practices are vital to include disabled people in workforces and ensure their fair treatment during their careers.

Further, tech employers report that just 3% of their tech employees are neurodivergent.

However, when asked directly as part of the survey, 53% of tech workers identify as being neurodivergent.

This shows that many workers may be unsure about disclosing their neurodiversity to their employers, or may not count it as a disability.