‘An equal opportunity to spy?’: comparing women’s employment, empowerment, and institutional change in MI5 and the CIA

This article explores how the process of change in women’s employment within intelligence was navigated from the 1960s to the 1980s by comparing organisational responses and women’s experiences in both the CIA and MI5. It argues that multiple variables were necessary to break down barriers for women in intelligence, including broader socio-cultural transformation, the introduction of legal protections and anti-discrimination legislation, institutional change, and women’s activism. The combination of these factors was necessary for change in the intelligence sector.<p></p>