GCHQ is to fund short courses in data and software to help women into coding and cyber security.

The Cheltenham-based intelligence, security and cyber agency wants to boost the number of female coders in its ranks, to tackle threats ranging from foreign states to child online safety, as reported by The Guardian.

GCHQ is funding 14-week "nano-degrees" in data and software to help women to make a career change.

Currently only a third of GCHQ staff are women, and the number is even lower in technology roles.

Jo Cavan, director of strategy policy and engagement at GCHQ 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."

She said counterterrorism mission teams which have improved their gender balance have been performing better

She continued: "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."

The agency is working with training organisation Code First Girls. Many participants in the programme are women in their late 20s and early 30s, who have decided to switch careers into technology.

A recent survey found that 80 per cent of women who had gone through the scheme said a career in technology wasn't mentioned or encouraged while they were at school.

Women make up just 18 per cent of workers in digital technology roles, according to the most recent Office for National Statistics data.

Image credit: GCHQ