Peter Burton, Desmond Llewelyn, John Cleese, and Ben Whishaw - all four of these men have played Q in the Bond series, the head of the research and development division responsible for equipping James Bond with his arsenal of fancy gadgets.

However, MI6's real head Sir Alex Younger thinks you should know something: the real Q is, in fact, a woman.

The Guardian reports Younger delivered the keynote speech at the Women in IT Awards in London, in which he directly appealed for more women to join MI6, especially those with scientific or technological backgrounds.

"If any of you would like to join us … the real-life Q is looking forward to meeting you and I’m pleased to report that the real-life Q is a woman," he said.

"The more different people you have in the room, in these high-pressure circumstances in which we operate, the better the decisions," Younger continued. "So success for me is a deeper, broader range of technological skills in MI6 and more diversity, in particular more women."

In fact, though the Bond movies have helped bring international attention to MI6's efforts, it comes with its own disadvantages in deeply entrenching stereotypes about the type of individual who works within the spy community.

The eight contenders to be the next James Bond Show all 9 1 /9 The eight contenders to be the next James Bond The eight contenders to be the next James Bond Jamie Dornan, 36 File photo dated 12/02/17 of Fifty Shades Of Grey star Jamie Dornan who has said the implications of Brexit keep him awake at night. PA The eight contenders to be the next James Bond Aiden Turner, 35 The eight contenders to be the next James Bond Idris Elba, 45 NEW YORK, NY - JULY 18: Idris Elba attends the "Star Trek Beyond" New York Premiere at Crosby Street Hotel on July 18, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images) Getty The eight contenders to be the next James Bond Michael Fassbender, 41 Getty The eight contenders to be the next James Bond Luke Evans, 39 Luke Evans Getty The eight contenders to be the next James Bond Jamie Bell, 32 Jamie Bell Getty The eight contenders to be the next James Bond Charlie Hunnam, 38 Getty The eight contenders to be the next James Bond Tom Hiddleston, 37 The eight contenders to be the next James Bond James Norton, 32 BBC



"The problem for me is that we’ve got to get over and see through the Bond thing," Younger explained. "Alright, that’s good actually – let’s do the Bond thing for a bit. It’s great in some ways because it means that all of our opponents think there’s an MI6 officer behind every bush and that we’re 10,000 times larger than we actually are."

"That’s all great, but there’s a problem because it leads to a stereotype which is of a particular kind or a particular sort of person that will join MI6 – whether they’re really posh or going to Oxford or whatever it is. I’m none of those things by the way. And the issue for me is that stands in the way of something that I regard as being so important which is that we can reach into every community in Britain and make sure that we get the people that are the best regardless of their background."

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