Diversity

“Keeping the country safe is a challenge that requires the best efforts of the richest mix of the most talented people in our society, working together in high performing teams. So it is essential to our success that ours is an inclusive workplace offering varied, rewarding and challenging careers for all”.
Director General Andrew Parker

We value difference and are committed to both equal opportunities and reflecting the society we protect. A significant, and growing, proportion of our people are female (40%), 8% come from black and ethnic minority backgrounds (double the percentage of ten years ago) and 3% of the people who work here have a disability.

We recruit people who will grow the skills and experience within our organisation and make it more effective. Our staff come from a breadth of backgrounds and cultures. An in-depth knowledge and understanding of a variety of communities isn’t just an advantage, it can be crucial for our work.

As an equal opportunities employer we hire, train, and promote people based on merit, irrespective of gender, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability or religion. We offer flexible working arrangements such as flexi-time, job sharing and compressed hours working where operational requirements allow.

We have a number of active staff networks, each supported by a Champion drawn from our Executive Board. Each network focuses on a particular area of diversity, and all have the shared purpose of providing an inclusive place to colleagues to work, socialise and network, and offer mutual support.

Our networks include:

• Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) network
• Women@MI5 network
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) network
• Ability Action network.

We are also members of:

• Stonewall
• Business Disability Forum
• Opportunity Now
• Race for Opportunity

We are signed up to the Social Mobility Compact which ensures that all young people have fair and open access to employment opportunities.