GCHQ How times have changed as spy agency promotes diversity
IT’S fair to say that 30 years ago GCHQ was not so diverse. Its security rules then meant staff had to be able to show that they, their parents and their grandparents had been born in the UK, which had a real, if unintended, effect on its ability to recruit staff from ethnic minorities.
Being gay meant an automatic bar from getting the necessary clearance and, if discovered, instant removal of clearance and dismissal. Just think about Alan Turing.
But things have changed, say GCHQ bosses.
The signals intelligence agency, based at the ‘Doughnut’ on the A40, has made huge strides in its work to recruit and retain staff from a much wider population.
A report recently published by the parliamentary intelligence and security committee, which carries out oversight of GCHQ, MI5 and MI6, details the efforts the agency has made over the past three years.
It says in 2018 it launched Reach – a new staff network for black and other minority staff.
It launched a campaign called ‘Attract’ to try to get more women to apply, and recorded an Evening Standard podcast to promote trying to get more senior women into technical roles.
It continued with its ‘Catalyst’ programme for aspiring female technical leaders. The intention is to develop home-grown technical talent to increase the number of women in senior roles.
The report says that in 2019-20, GCHQ had three main objectives for diversity: to attract, retain and progress more women, particularly in its technical roles; to improve recruitment and progression of ethnic minority staff; and to create a more inclusive GCHQ, “where everybody is able to see their future”.
The report said: “GCHQ has made notable progress against its recruitment and progression priorities, with the recruitment team improving its ability to directly connect with candidates through the recruitment pipeline.”
The Reach network made it possible for staff from an ethnic minority to always be on the interview panel for job candidates from such minorities.
The network organised and hosted the first conference for black and other ethnic minority staff held jointly by all three intelligence and security agencies in May 2019.
The report says concern for diversity goes right to the top, with the director Jeremy Fleming becoming the agency’s first ‘inclusion champion.’
In 2017, GCHQ was included in Stonewall’s list of the top 100 employers for LGBQT staff and earlier this year it was named as one of the top 75 employers for social mobility by the Social Mobility Foundation.
The challenges of its work have also led GCHQ to want to attract more neurodiverse members of staff – people with conditions such as Asperger’s syndrome or dyslexia, among many others.
The organisation says it helps to have people who may think differently to many others when trying to crack some of the most difficult intellectual challenges.
On a Vodcast about neurodivergence earlier this year, Jo Cavan, GCHQ’S director of strategy, policy and engagement, said: “We’re committed to recruiting people with dyslexia and other neurodiverse individuals into the organisation.
“We are about three or four times more likely to have apprentices with dyslexia than on other apprenticeship schemes.
“It’s mission critical for us, and since our inception we have looked to hire individuals who are neurodiverse, and as a result we have a thriving community of colleagues that think differently.”
A statement on GCHQ’S website said: “To meet the challenges of our ever more complex world, we’ll need more diversity, more uniqueness and individuality and we’ll need to find new ways to blend it.
“Our organisation is renowned for championing diversity of thought and we are striving to create an inclusive workplace culture that gives everyone the chance to thrive.
“As well as upholding all of the latest equality, diversity and inclusion guidance and legislation we’re actively seeking to go further by developing policies and processes that put people at the heart of our mission.
“We’re continually trying new initiatives in our recruitment and talent management to ensure we get the best mix of people into and throughout our organisation.
“We also have an extensive list of support networks who are building communities among our underrepresented groups and representing their needs to the organisation.”
We are about three or four times more likely to have apprentices with dyslexia than on other apprenticeship schemes Jo Cavan, GCHQ