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Women in the UK Intelligence Community
“… while the top
and bottom of
the organisation
understand and are
committed to diversity,
there is a tier at middle
management level…
that seems to have
a very traditional
male mentality and
outlook.”
leadership climate prevent talented women from progressing into
more senior roles. The report also highlights examples in parts of
government in New Zealand and Australia where studies have found
that the greatest blockages to increasing gender diversity were cultural
and behavioural issues. In the case of the Australian Treasury, gender
diversity initiatives alone were not sufficient to increase diversity;
cultural issues had to be tackled too.
“Having entered a male-dominated workplace where there are very
few female role models, women often feel intimidated or encounter
unconscious bias. The robust humour which naturally develops in an
all-male environment can be alien and off-putting to many women.
The leadership behaviours, which many successful men demonstrate
in an engineering environment, can be interpreted as very robust
and unfeminine – leading to a reluctance in women to volunteer for
leadership positions.”
Senior woman at GCHQ