DIRECTOR’S ADVISORY GROUP

on WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP

UNCLASSIFIED REPORT
i

FOREWORD

In April 2012, then-Director David Petraeus invited me to lead the Director’s 

Advisory Group (DAG) on Women in Leadership. My mandate was to examine 

the Agency’s recent record and current practices as they pertain to the careers 

of women and to recommend any necessary and appropriate changes. To this 

end, I have invited advice from many corners, reviewed a number of surveys, 

and participated in a series of meetings with Agency personnel. This report is 

the product of that effort and was written with one goal in mind: to help the 

organization better fulfill its vital mission through management practices that 

develop and prepare all CIA officers to better meet today’s and tomorrow’s 

challenges.

In that connection, I emphasize that the DAG’s scope was limited to a review of 

the factors affecting women’s careers and did not include obstacles that may be 

encountered by other groups; that limitation is a function of the guidance I received 

and does not reflect any judgment on my part about the nature or validity of other 

workplace concerns. I would urge CIA’s leaders to ensure that initiatives focused on 

other concerns continue to receive the attention and effort they deserve, worked in 

tandem with those we highlight here. 

The recommendations that follow are based on the thoughtful and candid 

contributions of a large portion of the CIA workforce—including both male 

and female officers of all levels and disciplines. The proposals reflect a need for 

significant reforms in how people are managed and a recognition that a policy 

of gender diversity affects, and is affected by, differences between generations. 

Employees want and deserve the opportunities to develop and achieve throughout 

their careers, be judged fairly, and rewarded equitably; they also want to 

understand how and on what basis decisions that affect their careers are made. In 

the CIA, the mission is paramount, which is precisely why the Agency requires a 

personnel system that brings out the best in each of its people.

As an outsider, I have been grateful for the opportunity to meet and share ideas 

with many of you. The passion you have for your work, your mission, and your 

country has been evident throughout my encounters here. I believe the CIA is 

a unique and indispensable organization that richly deserves the thanks of our 

nation. My hope is that this report will be received in the spirit in which it is offered, 

that its proposed benchmarks for progress will—with continuous monitoring 

and improvement—provide a reliable guide for the future, and that its successful 

implementation will be of value to all employees.

Madeleine K. Albright
ii

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Introduction

DAG Approach & Methodology

Mission Imperative

Women in CIA Today

Key Findings

Foster Intentional Development

Value Diverse Paths

Increase Workplace Flexibility

Recommendations

Applying This Report to Self

Implementation

Roadmaps

Performance Measures

Communication

Endnotes

1

3

3

3

4

5

5

7

8

11

15

16

16

16

17

18
1

Executive Summary

The CIA Director formed the Director’s Advisory Group on Women in Leadership 

(DAG) to examine why more women—from the GS-13 level and above—were not 

achieving promotions and positions of greater responsibility at the Agency. To 

answer this question, the DAG designed and conducted an Agency-wide survey, 

held over three dozen focus groups, and interviewed Senior Intelligence Service 

(SIS) officers. The DAG supplemented its research with a review of relevant CIA 

workforce studies and external literature. Our research efforts explored elements of 

“system”—the organizational processes, policies, and culture of the Agency—and 

“self”—personal choices of employees. 

The DAG found that there is no single reason why CIA women are not achieving 

promotions and positions of greater responsibility and that organizational and 

societal challenges factor into the issues affecting women. External literature shows 

there is no single solution and that increasing female representation in leadership 

requires an ongoing, multifaceted approach.1 The DAG’s research indicates that 

employees must more fully understand and embrace the impact of the personal 

choices they make. At the same time, increased Agency focus on three critical areas 

should improve the progression of women into positions of greater responsibility 

and develop a workforce that represents the best of everyone’s capabilities. 

•	 Foster Intentional Development: Agency managers and all officers should 

work to better align mission and organizational needs with employee goals in a 

more organized, explicit, and deliberate manner. 

•	 Value Diverse Paths: Agency managers and all officers should formally 

recognize that multiple career paths can provide the knowledge, skills, and 

experiences that build executive leaders. 

•	 Increase Workplace Flexibility: The Agency should address both 

organizational and employee flexibility, which clearly affect the work/life 

balance decisions employees make throughout their careers.

The DAG developed ten recommendations—the first two of which have already 

been implemented—to address these factors. (FIGURE 1) These recommendations 

fit together and the cumulative impact will be greater than the impact of any 

single recommendation. These recommendations will benefit not only women, 

46 percent2 of our employees, but enhance the work environment for our entire 

workforce. The recommendations are ordered by the length of time and level of 

effort the DAG assesses will be needed to achieve each one, starting with the least 

complex initiatives. Many of these recommendations address aspects of larger 

talent management needs at the Agency. 

Implementing these recommendations will enable CIA to reap the full benefit of 

its talented workforce—both men and women—in order to meet an increasingly 

complex and challenging mission. 
2

Recommendations Foster 

Intentional 

Development

Value 

Diverse 

Paths

Increase 

Workplace 

Flexibility

a 1. Establish clear promotion criteria from 

GS-15 to SIS

a 2. Expand the pool of nominees for 

promotion to SIS

3. Provide relevant demographic data to 

panels

4. Establish equity assurance representative 

role on panels

5. Reduce and streamline career 

development tools

6. Create on-ramping program

7. Provide actionable and timely feedback 

to all employees

8. Develop future leaders

9. Unlock talent through workplace 

flexibility

10. Promote sponsorship

The entire workforce will benefit as CIA continues to check off each recommendation and revalidates them 

over time.

FIGURE 1:

DAG Recommendations
3

Introduction

In April 2012, then-Director David H. Petraeus, concerned by the unusually low 

percentage of women promoted to the Senior Intelligence Service (SIS) in 2012, 

commissioned an advisory group to examine why more women at CIA—from the 

GS-13 level and above—were not achieving promotions and positions of greater 

responsibility. Director Petraeus asked Madeleine Albright, the former Secretary of 

State and member of the D/CIA’s External Advisory Board (EAB), to guide a group of 

CIA officers representing the four directorates, as well as the Director’s Area, in this 

effort. Five other senior external advisors joined the effort: the 17th Chairman of the 

Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen; former Assistant to the President for 

Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Fran Townsend; former Undersecretary of 

Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy; former CIA Deputy Director John McLaughlin; 

and former National Clandestine Service Deputy Director Justin Jackson. Each 

brought previous experience in implementing large personnel initiatives; four 

serve as members of the EAB; and two brought over a half-century of combined 

experience in CIA leadership to the group. 

DAG Approach & Methodology

The Director’s Advisory Group (DAG) on Women in Leadershipa undertook a 

research-driven approach to address this problem set and considered three 

organizational areas associated with “system”—promotions, assignments, and 

career development—and one with “self”—choices made by the individual. The 

DAG’s research efforts included an Agency-wide survey, more than three dozen 

focus groups, and interviews with SIS officers. The DAG also conducted a thorough 

review of prior Agency studies and relevant academic and business literature. The 

DAG also intentionally sought out the views of minority women. The DAG collected 

their views and perceptions through focus groups, engagements with employee 

resource groups, and analysis of survey responses of minority and non-minority 

women. 

Mission Imperative

The percentage of female college graduates in the United States 

(58 percent)3 is growing. CIA will lose out in the competition for talent if it is unable 

to attract, develop, and retain this critical talent pool. Additionally, many studies 

have highlighted the positive impact on organizational performance of having 

“At CIA, not 

maximizing 

women’s talents 

and expertise 

directly and 

negatively 

impacts the 

mission.”

a The DAG is composed of a diverse and dynamic cross-Agency group of managers, officers, 

and subject-matter experts (SME)–both male and female, both minority and non-minority. 

The DAG Steering Group established both the direction and the framework for this study, 

with the input of the six Senior Advisors. Members of the DAG Working Group participated 

in one of four Action Teams (Assignments, Career Development, Choices, and Promotions), 

assisted with focus groups and interviews, attended meetings, provided briefings, and 

contributed cogent and compelling insights about today’s workforce. 
4

a diverse leadership cadre. As noted in an extensive study in 2008 by McKinsey 

& Company, companies with three or more women on their senior management 

teams scored higher on nine important dimensions of organization—from 

leadership to accountability, from motivation to innovation—than those with 

no senior-level women.4 At CIA, not maximizing women’s talents and expertise 

directly and negatively impacts the mission. Increased flexibility and diversity 

cannot and should not be seen as inhibitors to the mission, but rather as the keys to 

attracting and retaining a dedicated and diverse workforce capable of meeting our 

increasingly complex and changing mission. 

Women in CIA Today

Women make up 46 percent of CIA’s workforce, up from 38 percent in 1980. 

Female representation at the GS-13 to GS-15 levels has increased from 9 percent 

to 44 percent over the same period of time.5 CIA compares well against our 

Intelligence Community (IC) counterparts and private industry. As of October 2012, 

females constituted 31 percent of the Agency’s SIS officers.6 This percentage is 

proportionally higher than at other IC agencies, which have a combined average 

of 28.8 percent females in their senior executive ranks.7 In 2011, women were 14.1 

percent of Fortune 500 executive officers.8

While these overall statistics show real progress, the leadership pipeline for women 

at CIA narrows above the GS-13 level for most Directorates.9 Agency-wide, female 

officers account for 43 percent of GS-14s and 37 percent of GS-15s.10 The 2012 SIS 

promotion process resulted in 19 percent female promotions to SIS—a concerning 

difference from the 30 percent-or-higher average of female promotions since 2007. 

If the 2012 outcome were to be repeated in the coming years, such a trend would 

lead to diminishing representation of women at the senior ranks.
5

Key Findings

Women in the American workplace face many challenges, including a lack of 

sponsors,

b forms of subtle bias and harassment, insufficient workplace flexibility, 

an increasing number of extreme jobs,

c and the pulld of outside responsibilities that 

lead to a higher rate of off-rampinge than their male counterparts.11,12,13 The DAG 

found that in terms of workplace challenges, women at CIA share much in common 

with their counterparts in the broader American workforce, and the reasons for 

the narrowing in the female leadership pipeline do not fall squarely in system or 

self, but into both categories. Regarding self, officers make choices—motivated by 

a number of factors, including work-life balance concerns and personal interests 

and growth—that can affect their career progression. Attributing the slower career 

progression of Agency women solely to the career and personal choices they 

sometimes make, however, is too simplistic. Regarding system, women are affected 

by the policies and practices of the Agency’s personnel management system, some 

of which exacerbate the impact of their personal choices. With sharpened focus in 

three critical areas the Agency can improve the progression of women, advance the 

mission, and benefit the overall workforce.

•	 Foster Intentional Development: Agency managers and all officers should 

work to align mission and organizational needs with employee goals in a more 

organized, explicit, and deliberate manner. 

•	 Value Diverse Paths: Agency managers and all officers should formally 

recognize that multiple paths can provide the knowledge, skills, and 

experiences that build executive leaders. 

•	 Increase Workplace Flexibility: The Agency should address both 

organizational and employee flexibility, which clearly affect the work/life 

balance decisions employees make throughout their careers.

Foster Intentional Development 

The Agency often has taken a tactical approach to personnel management. Indeed, 

it lacks a corporate talent management strategy—an organized, explicit, and 

deliberate system designed to align the Agency’s mission needs with workforce 

skills and goals. 

•	 System: The Agency must develop a corporate talent management strategy 

that shapes the capabilities of its workforce; identifies key experiences; 

determines and communicates short-term and long-term needs for positions; 

b A sponsor is someone who uses his or her influence or authority on their protégé’s behalf 

and advocates for him or her. 

c Extreme jobs are defined as working 60 hours or more per week and are positions with a 

number of demanding characteristics, such as unpredictable flow of work and inordinate 

scope of responsibility that amounts to more than one job.

d Pull factors are outside responsibilities such as having children; demands of caring for 

elderly parents or other family members; or personal health issues.

e Off-ramping refers to voluntarily taking time off from a career, usually to meet outside 

responsibilities.
6

matches employee capabilities with these experiences and positions; 

consistently provides clear and useful feedback; and grooms talent for 

leadership positions over time.

•	 Self: Employee “ownership” of career development must be encouraged as 

both the Agency and employees would benefit from officers thinking more 

strategically about the shape of their careers and how to build and acquire new 

skills that align with the Agency’s needs.

The DAG’s survey, interviews, and focus groups underscore the importance of 

intentional development:

•	 Women place greater importance than men on formal guidance and career 

development systems when searching for assignments, according to the 

survey and other research instruments. 

•	 The existing formal career development tools are not useful to employees, 

according to the DAG survey. Fifty percent of male and female officers 

assessed that there was not enough information available to them for career 

development.f

•	 There is not a consistent process or practice across all Directorates of 

identifying or communicating which assignments provide key experiences 

for development, according to focus group participants.

•	 According to the focus groups and SIS officer interviews, women are more 

likely to think about the short-term fit of an assignment while men are more 

likely to consider the strategic fit of an assignment with their career. 

•	 Feedback from promotion and selection panels is rarely actionable and was 

often characterized as “useless” by participants in focus groups and SIS officer 

interviews. 

•	 The DAG survey showed men at CIA use sponsors, supervisors, and other 

managers for career advice more often than women do. A study by Sylvia 

Ann Hewlett of the Center for Talent Innovation also found that men at large 

companies are much more likely than women to have a sponsor and that 

sponsorship is critical to reaching senior ranks in many organizations.

14

Of note, the DAG survey found that minority women at CIA are more likely 

than non-minority women to report having a sponsor. This point may be 

worth pursuing in the future to understand if minority women are reaping the 

rewards of sponsorship. 

The net effect of many Agency women relying on formal career development tools, 

not getting actionable feedback, and not tapping fully into informal networks 

can be a career that stalls prior to consideration for senior leadership. While it is 

incumbent upon the Agency to address these talent management issues and more 

intentionally develop its workforce, all officers should more systematically prepare 

for career opportunities and progression. 

f

 There was no statistical difference between male and female officers’ views toward career 

development information.
7

Value Diverse Paths

The Agency and its officers can leverage our diverse talent to improve mission 

success, taking full advantage of the multiple career paths that provide the types of 

knowledge, skills, and experiences needed to build executive leaders. 

•	 System: Organizationally, CIA must define and communicate the knowledge, 

skills, and experiences that will prepare officers for senior leadership. In 

addition, the Agency should not view as somehow less qualified those highpotential officers in any occupation who may have taken lateral assignments, 

periodically taken less high-profile jobs, performed part-time work, or gone on 

leave without pay (LWOP) during their career.

•	 Self: Employees must think strategically about their careers and seek out key 

experiences to better prepare themselves for future assignments aligned with 

Agency needs. Officers should be comfortable with the concept that their 

career is a “lattice,” rather than a “ladder”; they should view lateral assignments 

as beneficial because they offer the potential to gain a more diverse set of skills 

and experiences over a longer period of time.15

The DAG’s survey and interviews highlight a common view of the progression to 

SIS:

•	 High-profile and/or cross-directorate experiences are important stepping 

stones on the path to executive leadership, according to the SIS interviews. 

Additionally, SIS interviewees noted that many of these beneficial experiences 

can challenge the balance between work and life responsibilities. 

•	 Women are more likely than men to turn down a high-profile or stepping 

stone assignment, primarily due to long or unpredictable hours, according 

to the survey. In addition, the survey found that women are more likely to 

undervalue their own qualifications for assignments, further decreasing the 

likelihood of applying for a high-profile or stepping stone assignment. 

•	 A 2006 study of US white-collar professionals co-authored by Sylvia Ann 

Hewlett showed a growing number of positions in the workplace becoming 

extreme jobs, involving 60-plus hours a week, 24/7 demands, tight deadlines, 

and unpredictable work flows. These jobs often are critical to advancement in 

many organizations, but women are less likely than men to take them, at least 

partly because women tend to feel the impact and “opportunity cost” of an 

extreme job at home more so than men.16

CIA culture places the highest importance on meeting its mission, and since 9/11 

there has been a growth in the number of extreme jobs and higher expectations 

for CIA officers to dedicate themselves to the mission. The Agency’s focused view 

on intensive, career-boosting assignments diminishes recognition that officers can 

acquire the knowledge, skills, and experiences needed for leadership in different 

assignments. The Agency must think more broadly about how experiences derived 

from one extreme job could be gained from a combination of several positions over 

a longer period of time. Similarly, the Agency should recognize that officers need to 

acquire a wider range of skills and experiences that go beyond a particular career 
8

thrust. For example, taking a rotational assignment in a different Directorate, at a 

different agency, or on a corporate staff should be encouraged and incentivized—

not viewed as a pause or gap in mission impact. 

Increase Workplace Flexibility

In the long term, the Agency must expand its view on flexibility from discrete 

flexible work options for an individual to a comprehensive workforce strategy. 

Women are not alone in their desire for a flexible workforce environment that 

allows all employees to adjust their work/life balance in accordance with the 

changing dynamics of their lives. 

•	 System: The Agency should consider and adopt more flexible strategies so 

that high-potential employees can contribute to mission regardless of location, 

schedule, or assignment. Agency managers should recognize that officers who 

ask for a flexible work option may not be taking a permanent off-ramp, and 

that a lack of flexibility can be a key factor in an officer’s decision to choose 

outside “life” responsibilities at the expense of “work.”

•	 Self: Officers must become better attuned to the impact of work/life choices on 

their careers; realistically assess how key experiences and skills might be gained 

through less demanding positions in order to ensure continued career growth; 

communicate with managers to jointly assess the impact of a flexible option 

and how that option fits into Agency needs and overall employee career goals. 

The DAG’s survey, analysis of HR data, focus groups, and interviews show that CIA 

women are more likely to take a flexible work option at certain times in their career 

and suggest this could be having a negative impact on their careers:

•	 The DAG survey indicates that women are more likely than men to make use 

of flexible work options, and managers are perceived to be more supportive 

of, but less forthright with, women when counseling on the impact of 

choices surrounding working part-time or taking LWOP. As a result, many 

women are not receiving the necessary information about the potential impact 

on their career when making work/life choices. However, minority women 

were more likely to receive candid information from managers on the potential 

career impact of taking flexible work options than were non-minority women.

•	 Women are more likely to go on LWOP between the grades of GS-11 and 

GS-14, a critical career juncture.17 Although the reasons officers go on LWOP 

vary, those pursuing flexible work options—albeit temporary—may suffer 

from a more lasting career impact due to a possible “stigma” associated with 

having sought flexibility in a mission-focused work environment. Moreover, 

security and IT checkout practices for officers going on LWOP sever important 

connections that an officer could otherwise use to help re-integrate into the 

workforce.

•	 Focus groups and SIS interview participants stated that the Agency views 

part-time work as not meaningful and ancillary to mission, suggesting the 

Agency is not maximizing the talent currently working part-time.
9

•	 The DAG survey shows that females are more likely than men to have 

turned down an assignment due to a tandem couple conflict, suggesting 

that women in tandem couples are more likely to take the accommodation 

assignment. 

Officers who take advantage of workplace flexibility options, such as part-time and 

LWOP, often find themselves losing opportunities for growth. This is especially true 

if the part-time assignment is not challenging; if they are unable to re-enter the 

Agency at a similar level when returning full-time; if they lose access to contacts 

and current information about the Agency; or if they are perceived as less-thancommitted to the mission. The lack of a workplace flexibility strategy prevents 

the Agency from maximizing the potential of significant portions of its workforce, 

sometimes squandering the valuable expertise and skills of experienced women.
10

Harassment: Reinforcing the Agency’s Zero Tolerance Policy

Gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and unlawful bias will undermine the 

health of any organization. Although discrimination, harassment, and bias were 

not the focus of the DAG’s effort, a small number of officers raised these issues 

during our research, indicating there is a perception that these problems persist 

in some parts of the Agency. No amount of effort to establish and sustain diversity 

and inclusion programs will succeed without the concomitant effort to address 

inappropriate, unprofessional, and illegal behavior in the workplace.

The responsibility for ensuring a harassment-free workplace lies with all employees. 

There should be no perception that these behaviors are accepted at any level at CIA. 

•	 CIA leadership must make every effort to offer employees a safe way to voice 

their concerns about a particular situation or incident and to assure employees 

that those who report acts of harassment, discrimination, or bias will not 

suffer retaliation or experience a negative impact in their careers. The DAG 

assesses, therefore, that CIA needs to reaffirm its Zero Tolerance Policy, as 

well as demonstrate its commitment to take all allegations seriously and to 

act assertively against any confirmed cases of gender discrimination, sexual 

harassment, and unlawful bias. 

•	 In addition, those who witness harassment, bias, or discrimination must have 

the courage to report what they have seen. If instances of discrimination, 

harassment, and unlawful bias go unreported, the organization cannot 

effectively address the issue. 

It is also important that all employees—and especially managers—assess their work 

environments periodically for any indications of narrow or entrenched mindsets. 

Working together and challenging one another to ensure that biases are not 

allowed to take root in our workplace will go a long way to helping advance and 

sustain any other proposals or programs established as a result of the DAG study on 

women in leadership at CIA. 
11

Recommendations

The DAG developed ten corporate recommendations, which, taken together, 

will have a cumulative effect of enhancing opportunities and potential for 

advancement for women that no single recommendation could achieve in 

isolation. (FIGURE 2) Leadership commitment and accountability to implement 

these recommendations over the coming years will be necessary for the CIA to 

achieve a more robust leadership pipeline of both male and female talent. The 

recommendations are ordered according to the DAG’s assessment of the length of 

FIGURE 2:

DAG Recommendations

Recommendations Foster 

Intentional 

Development

Value 

Diverse 

Paths

Increase 

Workplace 

Flexibility

a 1. Establish clear promotion criteria from 

GS-15 to SIS

a 2. Expand the pool of nominees for 

promotion to SIS

3. Provide relevant demographic data to 

panels

4. Establish equity assurance representative 

role on panels

5. Reduce and streamline career 

development tools

6. Create on-ramping program

7. Provide actionable and timely feedback 

to all employees

8. Develop future leaders

9. Unlock talent through workplace 

flexibility

10. Promote sponsorship

The entire workforce will benefit as CIA continues to check off each recommendation and revalidates them over 

time.
12

time and level of effort that will be needed to achieve each one, starting with the 

least complex initiatives. Some are shorter-term initiatives, while others will require 

longer-term change management and cultural change efforts. A senior Agency 

officer should be appointed to lead implementation to ensure consistency and 

transparency of implementation across the Agency. 

Recommendations

 The DAG delivered two recommendations to impact the GS-15 to SIS promotions 

cycle for 2013 (Recommendations 1 and 2), and these were adopted. The DAG is 

putting forward eight additional recommendations (Recommendations 3 through 

10). 

Recommendation One: Establish Clear Promotion Criteria 

from GS-15 to SIS

Promotion criteria are essential as women—and all officers—plan career moves 

and gain knowledge, skills, abilities, and experiences to take on assignments with 

greater responsibility. Communication and transparency on criteria and corporate 

expectations also build trust across the workforce that standards are clear and 

applied throughout the organization. To this end, in November 2012 a message was 

sent to all GS-15 officers on the criteria for, and philosophy on, promotion to SIS, 

detailing the expectations and commitments for those promoted to SIS; guidance 

was issued to all Agency GS-15 panels to convey Agency expectations and ensure 

consistent guidance is being used and understood at all levels of the process; and 

tailored, corporate feedback (using a universal feedback form) will be provided to 

each GS-15 officer brought forward for consideration for promotion.

Recommendation Two: Expand the Pool of Nominees for 

Promotion to SIS

With a larger pool of nominees, CIA senior leadership is able to consider officers 

with a greater diversity of career paths and experiences; assess the corporate 

needs of the Agency in a way that transcends the viewpoint of a single Directorate; 

and provide written feedback to a greater number of GS-15 nominees on their 

strengths and developmental areas for moving to the executive level. Additionally, 

this expanded pool will enable panel members at each level to assess the rising 

talent and guide development in preparation for greater responsibilities. As a result, 

leadership will review an expanded pool of GS-15s for consideration to SIS in 2013 

and future years. 

Recommendation Three: Provide Relevant Demographic Data to Panels

Selection and promotion panels across the Agency can make better use of 

demographic data (to include key experiences, race, gender, occupation, grade, 

etc.) to ensure consideration of a broader pool of officers.g This demographic data 

g Panels cannot base selection decisions upon the EEO status of candidates in an effort to 

ensure race or gender balance, but panels can use demographic data to ensure a broad pool 

for future panels.
13

also provides a picture of the workforce to drive more intentional development 

of officers and allow managers to gain greater appreciation for diverse paths to 

promotion and key assignments.

Recommendation Four: Establish Equity Assurance Representative 

Role on Panels

The CIA should create a standing role on panels that allows any employee to 

serve as an Equity Assurance Representative—with rigorous training and specific 

responsibilities. This role will supersede the female and minority representatives on 

panels and is intended to drive rigor and accountability for equitable consideration 

of all officers at all levels, including women. 

Recommendation Five: Reduce and Streamline Career 

Development Tools

Employees and managers will benefit from a smaller number of corporate, tailored 

career development tools that support career discussions and decisions. This will 

benefit all employees and will particularly support women, who rely on formal 

career development tools more than their male counterparts. 

Recommendation Six: Create On-ramping Program

Women are more likely to take LWOP or go to a part-time status.18 A corporate, 

structured on-ramping program will provide a better connection to the Agency 

and reduce the barriers to returning. This program will reduce the possibility of offramps leading to resignation or stalled careers. The program should: review the full 

scope of LWOP practices; provide access to Agency career information and facilities 

to foster and sustain a connection to the Agency; and ensure that career services 

better define part-time and accommodation opportunities that enhance employee 

development. 

Recommendation Seven: Provide Actionable and Timely Feedback 

to All Employees

Improved feedback from panels and managers is critical to developing women 

and all employees. It provides critical data on what an officer needs to enhance 

performance and ties it to organizational needs. Improved and additional training 

programs are necessary to better equip managers to increase accountability for 

giving and responding to feedback; deliver timely feedback; and provide more 

effective feedback with clear Agency criteria for what constitutes high-quality 

feedback. For example, in fall 2012 a decision was made to provide performance 

feedback earlier in the GS-15 annual promotions exercise instead of delaying that 

feedback until after decisions on SIS promotions were made. 

Recommendation Eight: Develop Future Leaders

CIA needs to clearly identify and communicate what key experiences are important 

to prepare future leaders in the organization, and to more deliberately prepare a 

broad pool of talented officers who can take on those leadership roles. This will 

ensure that a larger and more diverse group of individuals is consciously taking 
14

the assignments necessary to build experiences critical for leadership and to 

better meet future mission needs. Additionally, adding key corporate skills and 

experiences—e.g., opportunity to lead a new unit or effort, crisis management, 

change management, etc.—to all vacancy notices and communicating when 

positions will become available allows women, and all officers, to plan careers 

more strategically and build skills needed for positions of greater responsibility. 

Furthermore, the Agency needs to use managed and directed assignments in a 

more transparent way for positions that provide key experiences. 

Recommendation Nine: Unlock Talent Through Workplace Flexibility

CIA needs to find creative and flexible ways to tap the talents and expertise of 

CIA’s workforce, with particular emphasis on those in part-time positions, on LWOP, 

working flex schedules, or serving as part of a tandem couple. Specifically, the 

Agency needs to: pilot manager/employee-designed workforce flexibility strategies; 

improve training and tracking tools for managers dealing with flexibility; hold 

managers accountable and reward them for fostering and implementing flexibility; 

evaluate which jobs can be part-time or shared; simplify policies and rules on 

tandem couple assignments; and ensure managers discuss with all employees the 

impact of their work/life flexibility choices on their career.

Recommendation Ten: Promote Sponsorship

Research shows that sponsorship is critical for high-performing individuals. 

Therefore, the Agency should benchmark how leading organizations build 

effective and safe sponsorship initiatives—including how to build a professional 

environment for male/female sponsor relationships—in order to implement best 

practices here at the Agency. Designing and conducting training, a speaker series, 

and continuing education for managers and the workforce on sponsorship will 

underscore the benefits of sponsorships. Furthermore, the Agency needs to reward 

and recognize managers who develop talent to meet future mission needs.
15

Applying This Report to Self

The DAG’s recommendations focus primarily on changes the Agency can make to 

the system. However, all Agency officers can and should apply the findings in this 

report to managing their own careers. For example, all officers should: 

•	 Take ownership of their career. Use a range of career development 

strategies—including informal networks and formal tools—to identify 

assignments that contribute to career goals. 

•	 Take the long view. Consider taking lateral assignments that broaden skills to 

better prepare for positions with greater responsibility.

•	 Take stretch assignments. Do not assume that you are underqualified for 

assignments if you do not possess all the stated qualifications. 

•	 Seize opportunities when presented. Be willing to consider high-profile 

assignments when they are offered. 

•	 Seek out honest career conversations with management. Seek actionable 

and useful performance feedback from managers. Likewise, communicate with 

managers when considering flexible work options and discuss related career 

impact.
16

Implementation

Agency leadership must make a long-term commitment to implementing these 

recommendations in an effective, transparent, and measurable manner, and hold 

themselves accountable. Given that the recommendations constitute an Agencywide change management effort, the DAG suggests that a senior Agency officer 

be designated as the lead for implementation. The officer will report to, and be 

supported by, the Director of the Center for Mission Diversity and Inclusion and 

the Chief of Human Resources. This officer will have ultimate responsibility to the 

Executive Director and have direct access to senior Agency leadership.

Agency leadership should provide sufficient staffing and funding to carry out 

these recommendations. Furthermore, the DAG should serve as a resource and 

advisory board to the senior officer. The senior officer should consider the following 

elements prior to implementing these recommendations:

Roadmaps:

•	 A master roadmap will ensure proper sequencing and prioritization of 

all recommendations. It should include concrete roadmaps for each 

recommendation, with timelines, milestones, and deliverables clearly 

identified. A dashboard should be created to track progress against the master 

roadmap.

•	 Each roadmap should require a step that involves benchmarking internal best 

practices that could be scaled to the corporate level. 

•	 Directorate-specific research and data from the DAG will assist Directorates in 

applying these corporate recommendations. 

Performance Measures:

•	 Regarding implementation, the senior officer should track programmatic 

metrics that gauge the degree of progress in advancing each initiative overall 

and in each Directorate. Regarding overall change, the senior officer should 

develop a set of outcome-based metrics to measure whether organizational 

improvements are resulting from these recommendations.

•	 The senior officer should give periodic updates to senior Agency leadership 

and external senior advisors on progress.

•	 To increase accountability, the Agency should reward managers at all levels for 

intentionally developing all their officers, valuing differing career paths, and 

building and sustaining flexible work environments. Shortcomings in these 

same areas should be identified and addressed.
17

Communication:

•	 Communicate the objectives and recommendations in this document, 

reiterating their importance to the workforce on a regular basis.

•	 Equip middle and first-line managers with the training, tools, and messaging 

to understand and articulate the concepts and recommendations contained 

in this report and how they benefit the workforce, improve performance, and 

advance the Agency’s mission.

•	 Establish multiple feedback loops—such as a standing blog, pulse surveys, and 

town hall meetings—to give employees the ability to inform Agency leaders on 

implementation progress and unintended consequences. 

The DAG’s recommendations cannot and do not stand alone. Changes or initiatives 

recommended by the DAG must dovetail with other critical workforce planning and 

diversity efforts. Worked together, these solutions will provide cohesive, lasting, and 

transformational change at CIA. 
18

Endnotes

1 Yucht, Madelyn. Performance excellence presentation. Linkage Women in 

Leadership Institute Conference. San Francisco, CA. 7 November 2012. 

2 HR Corporate Data.

3 National Center for Education Statistics’ Online Database. Department of 

Education. < http://nces.ed.gov/datalab/tableslibrary/home.aspx>. 8 January 2013. 

4 Desvaux, Georges, Sandrine Devillard-Hoellinger, and Meaney, Mary. “A Business 

Case for Women.” The McKinsey Quarterly September 2008.

5 HR Corporate Data. 

6 HR Corporate Data. 

7 Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Equal Employment Opportunity 

and Diversity Office. IC EEO and Diversity Update for IC EEOD Council Meeting. 

Washington, DC. April 2012.

8 2011 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Executive Officers and Top Earners. 

New York: Catalyst, 2011.

9 HR Corporate Data. 

10 HR Corporate Data. 

11 Hewlett, Sylvia Ann, and Carolyn Buck Luce. “Extreme Jobs: The Dangerous Allure 

of the 70-Hour Workweek.” Harvard Business Review December 2006. 

12 Hewlett, Sylvia Ann, and Carolyn Buck Luce. “Off-Ramps and On-Ramps: Keeping 

Talented Women on the Road to Success.” Harvard Business Review March 2005.

13 Johnson, Arlene, and Monica Roper. “When Talented Women Leave Your 

Company, Is It Push or Pull?” It’s About Time Volume 10 (Winter 2004).

14 Hewlett, Sylvia Ann. “The Sponsor Effect: Breaking Through the Last Concrete 

Ceiling” presentation. Center for Talent Innovation. Washington, DC. 7 March 2012.

15 Kaye, Beverly. Women and career development presentation. Linkage Women in 

Leadership Institute Conference. San Francisco, CA. 7 November 2012.

16 Hewlett, Sylvia Ann, and Carolyn Buck Luce. “Extreme Jobs: The Dangerous Allure 

of the 70-Hour Workweek.” Harvard Business Review December 2006. 

17 HR Corporate Data. 

18 HR Corporate Data.