I suppose one might say that, if you're Consul General in NYC, going to Tina Brown's parties is part of the job description. At least her service there postdates the time when Andrew Mountbatten Windsor was regularly popping up in town, demanding that the consulate throw a reception for him, and inviting Epstein. So she doesn't have that to answer for.
Antonia is a marmite character in Whitehall. Some people like her because she's undeniably bright and capable - you don't get to be the longest serving permanent secretary by being a dummy - and because she's got a reputation as an arse kicker who likes to shake things up. She's formed a strong partnership with Shabana Mahmood.
On the other hand, some people dislike her because she's a shameless self-publicist - some seem to be allergic to an openly ambitious woman, and some don't mind that but think she goes a bit over the top with it - and because she's an arse kicker who likes to shake things up.
I think this will be her third bite of the cherry - she was shortlisted in 2024 of course, and I believe also in 2020 when Mark Sedwill was pushed out. She might turn out be good or bad or a mixed bag. In personality she's the opposite of Chris Wormald, and that might be what the system needs at the moment.
I don't put much stress on her trumpeting wokery in the past. I have no insights into her personal views on genderwoo. If it looked like an uncontroversial position in government, she'll have gone along with it, and anything she said six years ago will also have been said by every other perm sec. It's not the job of senior officials to countersignal government policy. If the government takes a position and officials are undermining it, that would be different. Seems to me the major problem right now is to get Bridget Phillipson to take any position at all.