Mrs. Moneypenny?

James Bond mastered the art of getting the job done with some naughty time to spare. Like a true international man of mystery, he pays no mind to race or religion – he shacks up with anything that has a pulse. And, as always, he brings home the bacon for MI6.\nIt’s the same MI6 that, in the real world, has recently taken steps to remove any inkling the British public might have that their agents use the Cosmo advice column in their interrogation tactics. A recent press release revised previous assumptions about MI-6, calling the intelligence service a “family organization” – one in which female agents will “absolutely not” be used as a “honey-trap.”\nBut as absurd as this sounds, it’s not hard to believe that worries of this nature swayed married women and women with children away from a career in espionage. Indeed, females constituted only 38 percent of new applicants to the organization, despite two recent female leaders. Security officials worry that such disparate male-female employment in such a sector will inaccurately reflect the true diversity of the U.K.\nThe result? Between shooting down international scumbags, looking hot in pencil skirts and still finding time to nurse the baby, British ladies are enjoying generous new opportunities that reconcile the world of “Alias” with a relatively normal family life.\nAccording to the new policies, women who serve the agency for over a year get six months’ maternity leave on full pay, and partners and children are both allowed to accompany female officers on postings. In addition to this, women will have ability to spy on a part-time basis, receive childcare vouchers and are promised that they will not be forced to leave if they get married or have children after they have been hired.\nThis is a huge step in the right direction for the country. By implementing such generous maternity pay and other “mommy-friendly” elements in recruitment processes, MI6 can now select from the entire pool of athletic, incisive, competent candidates for espionage, rather than the former scenario in which the organization was effectively cheating itself out of a large portion of young, able women who (quite understandably) turned away from such a career path. Before there seemed to be no way to mesh the lonely, difficult life of a spy with the gratification of a long-term family life. And on the governmental side of things, they can surely expect a higher level of officer competence, as they’ll be able to select from a larger pool of capable applicants.\nSuch hiring measures are indisputably good for both groups, and one has to applaud MI6 for being right at the forefront of workplace evolution. National intelligence services – including our own – have long dealt with issues of a “macho nature,” making it hard for women to thrive in a working environment tilted “by men, for men.” One can argue strictly from an organizational efficacy standpoint that class action suits, be they sex discrimination or anything else, are exactly what these agencies do not want, if they are to effectively engage in international intelligence.\nOn any level: Kudos to MI6 on this one.