Female coders at GCHQ are ‘critical to tackling threats’

GCHQ is funding coding “nano degrees” for women as the intelligence service says diversity is “mission critical” to counterterrorism.

The 14-week courses are aimed at boosting the number of female staff at the agency in an attempt to give Britain a “competitive advantage” over rival countries such as China.

The so-called nano degrees are targeted at women in their late 20s and early 30s who may wish to switch careers. They are being taught by Code First Girls, which is also teaching coding to women under arrangements with security contractors, including BAE Systems and Rolls-royce.

Jo Cavan, the director of GCHQ’S strategy policy and engagement, said women make up a third of its workforce, which deals with counterterrorism, serious and organised crime, hostile states and cyber security. She told The Guardian: “We have been working hard to increase that number so we have more diverse teams and better get across the threats we need to today.

“We haven’t got the right mix of minds to get across some of these threats.”

Ms Cavan added: “If you look at China, for example, and how technology is moving east and China is looking to impose non-western values on technology, there is some really important work for us to do there to make sure we are at the forefront of shaping those international technology standards and norms.

“So it is important to have a diverse team looking at those threats and the opportunities that come from some of those technologies.

“We know that if we get the right mix of minds it will give us a competitive advantage and that’s why we talk labour diversity as being mission critical.”