34
Women in the UK Intelligence Community
“It is clear that all the
Agencies are making
progress on gender
diversity, and the
benefits of this should
start to be seen on
both operational
and corporate
effectiveness.”
54. We are aware that some of these ideas have been taken forward
to a greater or lesser extent within some of the organisations (for
example, SIS has established a talent management system), but this
is not consistent, and in most cases appears targeted at more senior
grades at the expense of those in junior grades. Mentoring and
sponsorship in particular appear to be informal, and are not recognised
as part of the appraisal system. We would agree with the May 2014
HayGroup report ‘Women in Whitehall’, which examines blockages
preventing talented women from succeeding in the SCS, which states
that “talent governance needs more energy, more objective data,
more focus”.16 Developing a corporate talent management strategy
was one of the key recommendations of the 2013 report on women
in the CIA, together with promoting sponsorship, which it considered
‘critical’ for high-performing individuals who wanted to reach the
senior ranks.17
55. The Civil Service has recently published its Talent Action
Plan, which seeks to “ensure that every talented, committed and
hardworking person has the opportunity to rise to the top, whatever
their background and whoever they are”.18 We commend this plan and
many of its more concrete recommendations, in particular ensuring
all-male selection panels and all-male shortlists for recruitment into
the SCS are by exception only. We believe this will improve diversity
and would support its implementation in the intelligence Agencies.
“Latterly, there has been a much more visible focus on difference
and inclusion here. There are more conversations that seek to answer
the question, ‘Where are all the senior women?’ and I think we are
becoming more conscious organisationally of potential bias in our
processes and what we need to do to be alert to those. Personally, I’m
keen to help women in the department – with the capability, if not
overt ambition – to reach their full potential. I mentor three women
and I sponsor a number of other females who will benefit from
stretching assignments to build their confidence and reputation.”
Senior woman at GCHQ
56. As with all change, as new processes are introduced, it is essential
that the Agencies make a concerted effort to communicate the
changes to staff, linking them to diversity objectives and highlighting
the expected benefits of a transparent process with fair outcomes. It
is the cultural aspects, as we explore further in our conclusion, that are
the key to success.
16 ‘Women in Whitehall’, HayGroup, May 2014.
17 ‘Women in Leadership’, CIA Director’s Advisory Group.
18 Civil Service Talent Action Plan, 5 September 2014. Available at www.gov.uk/
government/publications/talent-action-plan-removing-the-barriers-to-success