For the first time ever a woman has been appointed the head of the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service.
Career spy Blaise Metreweli will become the 18th chief of MI6 in the autumn when Sir Richard Moore steps down.
Her appointment follows in the footsteps of the other main spy agencies, GCHQ, which currently has a female director, Anne Keast-Butler, and MI5, which has had two female directors.
However, there are still a handful of powerful positions in the UK that have never been held by a woman. Here are five of some of the most high-profile.
Leader of the Labour Party
There might be more female MPs than ever in this current Parliament, but a woman has never been elected as head of the Labour Party.
Margaret Beckett, who served as the first female foreign secretary under Tony Blair in the early 2000s, technically became the first ever female Labour leader after the death of John Smith in 1994. Likewise, Harriet Harman also had the role in a caretaker capacity twice, after the resignation of Gordon Brown in 2010 and Ed Miliband in 2015.
But it remains that a woman has never been elected to lead the party.
During the last Labour leadership election in 2020, two female candidates, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy, came close, but it was Sir Keir Starmer who triumphed, denying a female MP the top job.
Speaking on Sky’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast – which Harman is co-host of – last year, the politician said it is “shameful” that her party has never had a woman in the top job.
“It is sort of embarrassing and sort of shameful that we think we are the party of women and equality when we have never had a woman leader and the Conservatives have had three,” Harman said.
“I keep saying to the men in the Labour Party, be ambitious, that’s a good thing, but strive to be deputy.
“They all want to be leader, but they have got to just now strive to be deputy and support a woman leader. It takes a strong man to be leader, but an even stronger man to support a woman as leader.”
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Head of the Bank of England
One of England’s most important officials, the head of the Bank of England, has always been a man.
The role, which also involves heading up the country’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), is currently held by Andrew Bailey. Before him, it was Mark Carney – who was the first non-Briton to be appointed to the role – and before him, Mervyn King.
In its latest annual report on the gender pay gap, the Bank of England said only 35% of employees in the highest-paid quarter are women, with women on average earning 83p for every £1 that men earn an hour.
However, after the appointment of Clare Lombardelli as deputy governor for Monetary Policy in July last year, five of the nine positions on the MPC are now filled by women for the first time in its history.
Mr Bailey’s term as Bank of England chief will come to an end in 2028, which could pave the way for the first ever woman leader.
Archbishop of Canterbury
Women have been ordained in the Church of England for a number of years. In fact in 2015 Bishop Libby Lane became the first woman to be consecrated (formally ordained).
But no woman has ever been in the top role – the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The archbishop is the most senior bishop and is the spiritual leader of the church and worldwide Anglican Communion. After the resignation of Justin Welby in January, the chance for a woman archbishop is more likely than ever.
Last year, the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, who has stepped in as Mr Welby’s replacement, told The Guardian that he would welcome a woman in the top role, adding that he expects some of his “excellent female colleagues” to be put forward as candidates.
However, Martyn Percy, a priest and theologian, told Catholic newspaper La Croix International that some members of the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC). which helps appoint the Archbishop of Canterbury, may oppose female bishops.
Manager of England’s men’s football team
The manager of England’s men’s team has always been a man.
The only one to seemingly have come close is Sarina Wiegman, manager of England’s women, who was hotly tipped as an outsider to succeed Gareth Southgate. But it was Thomas Tuchel who landed the job in the end.
Wiegman has said in the past it is “only a matter of time” before women are coaching men’s teams in the professional game, but some of her counterparts disagree.
Former Chelsea women’s head coach Emma Hayes, said last year there is still work to be done.
She said: “I’ve said this a million times over – you can find a female pilot, a female doctor, a female lawyer, a female banker, but you can’t find a female coach working in the men’s game, leading men. It just shows you how much work there is to be done.”
Director-general of the BBC
When Tony Hall stepped down as the BBC director-general in 2020, there were calls for his successor to be a woman, but the job went to Tim Davie instead.
Speaking in April this year, former Newsnight presenter and BBC Radio 4 presenter Kirsty Walk said she thinks the reason why the job has never gone to a woman is because the corporation needs to “be a bit more adventurous”.
“It’s definitely not because there hasn’t been anyone good enough. I can think of three women who would be brilliant,” she told The Telegraph.
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“We’ve got brilliant women running departments and running programmes, but I think we just need to be a bit more adventurous.
“The BBC has so many other ways it’s on the front foot – technology, iPlayer, BBC audio and other things – and I would really love to see a woman take hold of that.”
