Women in HUMINT: WWI, Cold War, and Beyond

Introduction to HUMINT and Female Intelligence Collectors

HUMINT, a term used to define human intelligence, encompasses any intelligence collected from human sources. Within America, the NCS (National Clandestine Service), a branch of the CIA, is responsible for most, if not all, HUMINT collection (Schnell, 2013). Specifically, any interpersonal communication or contact constitutes HUMINT. SIGINT, MASINT, and IMINT are more technical intelligence-collection disciplines that rely on signals, imagery, and signature and measurement intelligence, respectively.

Interpersonal contact initiated to gather HUMINT may include interviews. Before an interview begins, however, HUMINT requires the identification of persons of interest through iris scans, voiceprints, fingerprints, and/or physical or facial features. Extended interrogations may then follow in order to form an emotional connection with the subject and gather more information. The interviewer may place herself within the subject's life experiences as the subject recounts events. After the information-gathering phase, debriefing occurs.

The debriefing phase consists of getting cooperative subjects to satisfy intelligence requirements in accordance with the laws, policies, and rules of the HUMINT organization (Schnell, 2012). Debriefing may occur through casual conversation; however, during this phase, most interaction follows standard procedure because subjects are willingly cooperative. Those classified as "tasked individuals" belong, in some way, to the interviewer's organization.

Typically, those classified as tasked in voluntary debriefing include military police, special reconnaissance teams, diplomats, and intelligence personnel. Those classified as not tasked include residents of ostensibly controlled regions, nongovernmental organization workers, neutral or friendly foreign diplomats, and persons outside the area who nonetheless possess relevant knowledge. Teletypes and secretaries may have fit into the not-tasked category of debriefing and may have collected intelligence without the use of standard practices. The literature review that follows highlights such practices.

WWI: Women in British and Allied Intelligence Networks

HUMINT began in America based on Britain's own intelligence-gathering standards. Britain shared its techniques and methodology with America starting in WWI and continuing into WWII. WWI became an integral part of human intelligence gathering in both America and Great Britain. British female intelligence workers were among the first revealed to have collected important information during the war in support of the Alliance. As Proctor notes, "adolescent girls had been entrusted with reports and secret memoranda at Military Intelligence 5, Counterespionage (MI5) headquarters in London, one of the major secret offices in the British government" (Proctor, 2003, p. vii). Although secretaries and teletypes did play a major role in female HUMINT collection, so did teenage girls within Britain. This supports the idea that inconspicuous figures like women were able to perform intelligence gathering more effectively because of the way they appeared and because they held no formal title or office.

Women during and after the world wars played an important, albeit understated, role in human intelligence gathering:

"Women, who had been a small part of very small intelligence networks prior to the twentieth century, now became a crucial yet invisible element in the creation of World War I spy organizations. There were many strong, educated women who were patriotic and willing to do their bit for a low salary, and it was these female workers on whom the British intelligence establishment precariously balanced" (Proctor, 2003, p. 28).

Women served as a means of collecting intelligence because they were unassuming and present in the background of highly classified meetings, taking down information for the men participating in the war effort. They were also effective in delivering sensitive information because no one would suspect their involvement in espionage or intelligence gathering—hence why teenage girls were used in Britain rather than adult men. Ironically, espionage was considered very feminine, whereas intelligence gathering was considered masculine.

Although women played a vital part in intelligence gathering, especially delivery and transference during WWI, governments made efforts to stifle female activity. For example, the DORA legislation in Britain established curfews for certain women and gave police new rights to examine and detain women and girls. "DORA 35C and 40D established new versions of the nineteenth-century Contagious Diseases Acts, giving authorities the right to stop suspected women and administer gynecological examinations" (Proctor, 2003, p. 31). Women could not go outside past a certain hour without fear of being detained, a situation that applied especially to non-British women in the country. Although women clerks, teenage girls, and secretaries were used by intelligence organizations to transfer messages between offices, because of legislation and the popular espionage stereotype, Boy Scouts frequently filled these delivery positions instead.

Britain was the home of organized intelligence gathering during WWI and was in fact the first country to make it a national institution, by 1909, in part through the contributions of female intelligence workers. Writer Christopher Hart details British women and their WWI efforts: "While these male fictions usefully foreground the linkage of Englishness and Britishness with the secret service, they tend to overshadow the position of actual women spies. Yet women have played a central role in espionage from the establishment of spying as a profession" (Hart, 2008, p. 1). Secretaries, teletypes, and other inconspicuous office workers provided important not-tasked debriefing information to tasked HUMINT personnel, information that allowed Britain to develop the intelligence network it possesses today.

Figures like Mata Hari and Edith Cavell generated the polarizing stereotypes of female espionage and, to some extent, female intelligence gathering. However, these two portraits were not the complete picture. Women, as noted earlier, often worked in low-paying positions as typists and secretaries and through those jobs gathered intelligence that was then transferred to government officials. "Yet women had been playing an active role in intelligence long before the war started and became important during the First World War—certainly, their diligent and poorly paid work kept the British intelligence services going" (Hart, 2008, p. 4).

Great Britain was not the only country during WWI to utilize female intelligence gathering. The British government also worked in Belgium, employing women in its intelligence networks there. "During the First World War women played key roles not only in the British intelligence services but also in the intelligence networks in occupied countries such as Belgium. The La Dame Blanche network in Belgium was a militarized espionage group for both men and women" (Hart, 2008, p. 5). Although the organization was short-lived, it placed women on equal footing with men within a recognized organization—a brief but significant moment for female intelligence gathering and espionage.

During its operation, the organization reached "more than 900-strong, a large number of whom were women. All members took a military oath of allegiance and after the war they were eventually recognized formally as the Corps d'Observation Anglais, a 'Volunteer Service attached to the British Army in France'" (Jeffery, 2010, p. 24). La Dame Blanche stands as perhaps the clearest example of official government recognition of women employed for intelligence gathering during WWI; it not only secured formal acknowledgment for its female members, but also provided legitimate opportunities for official intelligence work during its run. In fact, 30% of the 190-battalion members were women. The unit itself was led by a single female schoolteacher in her forties named Laure Tandel.

Laure Tandel and other female members legitimized female intelligence gathering during WWI. The ages of participants ranged from 16 to 81. The organization also revealed which kinds of women were most likely to serve in such roles. "Observing that 60% of the women were single (and 7% widowed), Proctor concluded that 'independent, older women were more likely than younger women to work as formal soldiers' in the organization" (Jeffery, 2010, p. 25). Of the women in Tandel's unit, most were unemployed, though some were shop assistants and schoolteachers.

Notable participants within Tandel's unit included Anna Kessler, a Brussels widow, and her four daughters, who joined after the death of her only son. The family acted as transcribers, couriers, and letterbox operators, holding reports for forward transmission. Three unmarried sisters named Weimerskirch operated other reliable letterboxes from a Catholic bookshop in Liège. Although the organization maintained robust security and achieved meaningful results, it suffered casualties and ultimately ended what had been an effective and officially recognized chapter in female intelligence gathering.

Labor spying was also a major form of intelligence gathering during this period, and secretaries and teletypes, among others, participated in information collection and transference. Robertson's research on labor spies during WWI notes: "During World War I, a new form of labor spying developed in addition to spying on unions and strikers and doing 'efficiency work,' namely, doing 'propaganda work.' As a result of the emergence of propaganda combined with increased interest in personnel management, labor spies became the employer's voice in the workplace, repeating arguments drawn from management literature and seeking to change how workers thought about their relationship with their employer" (Robertson, 2013, p. 57). These spies not only provided a voice for their employer, but also fueled propaganda. Women played a vital part in labor spying because they were often the ones left to record sensitive information such as letters and official documents dictated by men. This form of unofficial intelligence gathering helped governments and propagandists circulate their messages during the war.

The Cold War Era: Female Intelligence Roles in East and West

The Cold War refers to a state of military and political tension following WWII between powers within the Western Bloc—including NATO allies and the United States—and the Eastern Bloc. While neither side engaged in large-scale direct conflict, both supported regional wars in countries such as Afghanistan, Vietnam, and Korea. The Cold War unfolded across five main phases: 1947–1953, 1953–1962, 1962–1979, 1979–1985, and 1985–1991. Women played varying roles in intelligence gathering across each of these periods.

Daniel Horowitz's work details Cold War events in which women participated in espionage or HUMINT. Writers like Goldstein described plots by military leaders concerning preparation for war against the Soviets, and "referring to 'the smokescreen of the Canadian spy scare,' she described the case of a clerk who defected to Canada, allegedly with information on Soviet espionage" (Horowitz, 1998, p. 116). Such writing illustrated women's active role in intelligence collection: "She went on to tell of the hatching of a 'conspiracy' that would deprive Americans of the benefits of the peaceful use of atomic energy and threaten world peace as well" (Horowitz, 1998, p. 116).

Goldstein's work supplied instances of active female participation in the early phase of the Cold War around 1953. She and others like her helped bring American female intelligence gathering to the public eye, even though female intelligence collectors were rarely officially recognized. Thanks to writers like Goldstein, a brief record of women's participation during this era in intelligence collection and transference has been preserved. Another writer, Betty Friedan, also contributed to the documentation of the early Cold War era through her writing.

In the late 1940s, specifically 1947, Friedan ridiculed HUAC tactics and methodology. Her writing demonstrated her knowledge—or assumed knowledge—of problems she or her boyfriend, Bohm, might face because of the intelligence she had gathered. It was Bohm's relationship to Steven Nelson and Oppenheimer, and their participation in radical circles as well as atomic research, that drew suspicion from authorities. Because Friedan had become romantically involved with someone like Bohm, she had access to pertinent information of interest to the American government.

Friedan knew several individuals congressional committees were investigating. People like Aronson and Belfrage were among those privy to information the government believed should remain in American hands. Situations involving classified information almost always had at least one woman connected to them—whether through a romantic relationship or a non-military position—making women the links between secrets among men during the Cold War.

A book by Timmermann details organizations during the Cold War era that collected intelligence. The HVA (East German Foreign Intelligence), for example, pursued training in gathering personal information from human sources. A key example is the Romeo operation, in which men were trained to seduce women from the FRG and recruit them. "The HVA was famous for its excellent training to gather personal information sources, under which male agents were sent in order to seduce and recruit potentially important women" (Timmermann, 2013, p. 224). This not only confirms women's role as intelligence assets, but also demonstrates that some organizations recognized the importance of women in the context of intelligence collection. Women make up half the world's population, and to ignore their importance—especially in something as significant as intelligence gathering—diminishes their value. Countries around the world used women in unofficial ways to gather intelligence, and the HVA was one of those organizations.

Some KGB workers during the Cold War were women. As Timmermann explains, "At any given time, there were dozens of phones, offices, and apartments being bugged and this battalion of KGB workers—most of them women—recorded and transcribed the conversations" (Timmermann, 2013, p. 78). Women worked behind the scenes recording sensitive information, performing the tedious tasks that male operatives did not wish to undertake. Because of this, women working for the KGB had access to a wealth of information from diplomats and important officials—information that male superiors often did not learn of until they were formally briefed. Had those women chosen to pass such information to foreign powers, the consequences could have been severe (Dower, 2010).

Dower also explains that espionage during this era often involved strategy that included both men and women. The use of honey traps (Adams, 2014), for instance, involved sexual situations that provided access to information that would have been unattainable by other means—and such tactics depended entirely on female participation. Women did play, and continue to play, an important role in intelligence gathering, especially in the form of HUMINT. Although WWI had an organization that officially recognized female intelligence gathering, the Cold War also saw various forms of female participation, even if those roles were more background-oriented than prominent.

Herman and Hughes explain that major intelligence operations between organizations like the KGB depended on information from telegrams and similar communications in order to develop strategy and operational frameworks (Herman and Hughes, 2013). The West and the East during the Cold War were gripped by fear and anticipation—especially in the 1950s and 1960s, when the American government feared nuclear warfare. In those circumstances, women served as the primary means by which sensitive information was delivered and transferred, much as they had during WWI.

During the Cold War, Americans and Soviets also used women's interests as a propaganda battleground. "Henry Loomis, Director of the Office of Research and Intelligence at the U.S. Information Agency, stressed to a meeting organized by Parson in April 1957, 'The mutual interest of women is being increasingly exploited by the Communists to serve their own means'" (Laville, 2002, p. 179). Men essentially used women as political chips to sway opinion and generate propaganda. However, some women actively participated in the American government during the Cold War, such as Rose Parson, who supported programs intended to increase intelligence gathering. As Parson recalled: "It was important to remember that when this started it was a real emergency and there was a great need for this kind of program. We knew it would be impossible to raise money. We tend to forget now that it was a patriotic thing" (Laville, 2002, p. 184). Even though women were often marginalized within intelligence networks, they were frequently the ones supporting and fundraising for those very organizations. They accepted low salaries, often volunteered their services, and pursued fundraising out of devotion to their country.

Conclusion: The Future of Women in HUMINT

Women contributed greatly to human intelligence gathering, or HUMINT. They first began contributing officially in Britain during World War I, participating in an organization called La Dame Blanche in Belgium. These women were often single or widowed, connected to the war through the loss of husbands and brothers, and motivated by patriotism. They transferred sensitive information, maintained letterboxes, and worked for military and intelligence organizations for little to no pay. Their work enabled the British intelligence apparatus to grow into what it became.

During the Cold War eras, female writers played an important role in relaying intelligence or preventing sensitive information from being exposed. Women served as secretaries and typists for the KGB, documenting and transcribing wiretaps. They held sensitive information, provided it to military officials, and were also deployed in honey traps. Some organizations, such as those in East Germany, actively sought to recruit women because they recognized the importance of women in intelligence collection.

In more recent times, figures like Gail Harris represent what women can achieve in military intelligence. She became the first female intelligence officer in a Navy aviation squadron in the 1970s and later taught intelligence methodology. Her accomplishments mark a high point for female military achievement. Sadly, she remains a rare example. Most women who join the military leave early or without a high rank due to issues including sexual harassment and lack of female role models.

Countries like Israel, though inclusive of female officers, do not view them as equal in competence and ability to their male counterparts. So even though women have been and continue to be part of the military and human intelligence gathering, they do not receive the same credit or recognition as men. They are often expected to prioritize the household and conform to societal concepts of femininity.

Female intelligence collectors have brought important information and sustainability to government-sponsored intelligence programs. They have fulfilled many roles and may fulfill an even greater one in the future. Some studies show the importance of reforming human intelligence gathering protocols, and involving women in these missions may help modify such protocols to improve overall efficacy. The JSG, a UK organization, recruits both men and women to support HUMINT collection. Their double agents risk their lives and have produced results such as the assassination of a prominent al-Qaeda leader and the targeting of insurgents in Iraq.

Women have always played a vital role in all aspects of warfare—from data collection and intelligence transference, to instructing, to active service. However, the military must also recognize and adapt to the reality that many women marry and have children. "As in the civilian workforce, the arrival of women on the career scene mandated an awareness of two critical social factors which affect the majority of women, marriage and childbirth" (Kipphut, 1996). Most of the women who participated during WWI in Britain were unmarried or widowed. Older women who had already raised families showed greater willingness to serve in intelligence capacities than those still seeking to start families—an important consideration if the U.S. military wants to increase female participation in intelligence programs.

For women to continue making strides as Harris did, action must be taken to reform and reshape policies, providing access to careers and occupations in the military without fear of inequality or gender exploitation. Some countries, such as Guatemala, have recognized the importance of female participation in intelligence gathering, but this recognition has not yet crossed over to the United States or Great Britain in any comprehensive way. Recent reporting, including articles in the New York Times, continues to call for British intelligence agencies to recruit more experienced, older women. Hopefully, the future will change the face of intelligence gathering. Women are an indispensable part of that future, and the military and governments of any country would do well to recognize it.