According to several British media reports, the Secret Intelligence Service of MI6 is about to change hands and produce the first female director. As the British spy classic film“007” stars James Bond working for an intelligence agency based on MI6, netizens have been making jokes, the real Mrs. M -LRB-agent 007’s immediate boss) is about to take over.
The Daily Telegraph reported on the 11th that the list of candidates to succeed Richard Moore, the current director of MI6, who will end his five-year term in the autumn, has recently been whittled down to three, and all were female. Prime Minister Stamer will then select the next commissioner from a trio of candidates, following the advice of a panel of experts. MI6 has had 17 male chiefs since it was founded in 1909, but the British National Directorate of Security known in the press as“MI5” has had two female bosses. In recent years, the“Call for gender equality” has become a new trend in the British workplace, with Moore pledging in her 2023 to“Promote equality for women”. He also said: “I will be the last from the ‘all-male candidate list’ elected Chief.”.
So far, the list of candidates has not been made public. It is understood that two of the candidates for the current intelligence officers, because of their identity and nature of the work is highly confidential, relevant information has not been disclosed. The third candidate on the list, notably, is not an intelligence officer in the traditional sense, but a veteran British diplomat and former ambassador to China, Barbara Woodward. Robert Burns Woodward, a 63-year-old with a background in prestigious schools such as Yale, is fluent in Chinese. Her Chinese teacher named her Barbara Woodward. In the 1980s, Wu, then known as the“Foreign teacher,” taught at Chinese Hubei University Schools and Nankai University. Robert Burns Woodward, who joined the FCO in 1994, spent her early career in Russia and China before being appointed the first female British Ambassador to Beijing in 2015. At the end of her tenure, she was Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations by Rabou, then British Foreign Secretary. Today she is one of the most senior women in the Foreign Office. ?
However, the selection mechanism of the MI6 leaders has caused waves in the public opinion field. Many British internet users expressed dissatisfaction with this. They believe that blindly shouting“Gender equality” and“Diversity” in the workplace actually does more harm than good, but from the previous“All-male candidate” list into today’s“All-female candidate” list, is going to the other extreme.
Robert Burns Woodward’s candidacy is also in dispute. Opponents say she has never worked in the intelligence field and lacks the experience to fill the key post of MI6 director. However, proponents argue that lack of experience can be compensated for by later learning. In their view, Robert Burns Woodward’s extensive diplomatic experience, leadership in multilateral activities and important strategic vision are more valuable in today’s complex international security environment. Robert Burns Woodward’s nomination also appears to mark a quiet shift within MI6, which used to rely on agents for intelligence, the Times reported, citing former intelligence officials, today they operate more like a“Secret Foreign Office”.