CIA TARGET SEGMENT OVERVIEW - WOMEN

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06479729
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: March 16, 2022
• Document Release Date: June 22, 2016
• Case Number: F-2015-02183

Approved for Release: 2016/06/16 C06479729
CIA TARGET SEGMENT OVERVIEW - WOMEN
Overview of the Target
Resources for Finding Employment Opportunities
� The Internet is the first resource women use when searching for employment opportunities.
They go to specific company websites as well as various job search boards (e.g., Monster,
Career Builder).
� Some also find social and professional networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn
helpful when searching for jobs, in addition to networking with friends and colleagues.
� Younger women often rely on college career counselors and career fairs when searching for
employment opportunities.
Rewarding Job/Factors Important When Choosing Between Jobs
� The factor mentioned most often in terms of defining a rewarding job is salary. In addition,
health care benefits, vacation/sick leave, and education benefits are important to women
when choosing a job.
� There are also intangible benefits that are cited as important factors for a rewarding job.
These include a flexible work schedule, work/life balance, a supportive and collaborative
environment, autonomy, the opportunity to help others, and a job that is located close to
home.
� The CIA should communicate that it offers flexible work arrangements and good benefits,
two of the most important factors to women searching for employment.
Perceptions of the Federal Government
�
The target identifies a few advantages of working for the Federal Government:
o Job stability
o Competitive benefits
o Opportunity for advancement
o Relatively high salary
o Flexible work arrangements (e.g., telecomnnuting, extensive personal leave, support
for family needs)
� The target identifies several disadvantages of working for the Federal Government:
o Lower pay
o Requirement to relocate to Washington, DC
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o Bureaucracy
o Extensive application process
o Difficult to get a government job unless you know someone
� In general, the target believes that the Federal Government is a more equitable employer for
women than the private sector; women in government jobs must be paid the same as men
and be offered the same opportunities for advancement. However, they do believe that the
treatment of women varies by the specific cultural environment of each agency.
Perceptions of the Intelligence Community and the CIA
� The target has some familiarity with the CIA, but most knowledge is superficial and
stereotypical. In general, women believe the CIA is full of spies and white men in suits who
are reserved, but intelligent.
� Most of the target's knowledge of the CIA comes from movies, books, media, etc.
� Those who have had some contact with CIA recruiters say they appear aloof and are only
interested in asking them about specific skill sets, rather than sharing information about the
breadth of available jobs at the CIA.
� Advantages to working for the CIA:
o CIA is seen as a prestigious and challenging place to work
o Opportunity to travel is appealing to some
� Key deterrents to working for the CIA:
o Fear that it will be intrusive on employee's family life.
o Perception that you have to make a lifetime commitment to the agency
o Requirement not to discuss work with friends and family
o Intrusive background checks
o Need to relocate to DC
o Lengthy hiring process
o Inability to decline an assignment they do not support
o Perception that the culture is still very male-dominated
CIA Website
� The CIA website is an effective public education source to inform the target of the available
job opportunities. However, few believe that the site encourages women to apply for jobs
with the CIA. The website should feature more visuals of female CIA employees to lend
credibility to this particular targeted recruiting effort.
� Some found the amount of information on the website and the job requirements
overwhelming and intimidating. For these women, the website reinforced their perception
that it is extremely difficult to get hired by the CIA:
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(b)(3)
CIA's Recruiting/Networking Efforts
� The CIA should target professional and community events that prospects are likely to attend
such as meetings of women's professional associations, women's sporting events and
community job fairs targeted to women.
� The CIA should also improve its outreach specifically to younger females by having a larger
and more proactive presence at colleges and universities. Younger women tend to be more
willing to relocate and are more excited about the prospect of a career with the CIA than
many older women who may have started families.
� The CIA should consider using female recruiters to talk to women about the agency
whenever possible. Women are intimidated by the secretive, aloof image of the CIA and do
not understand anything about the internal environment of the agency or the agency's
culture. The CIA is not transparent to them and a female employee would make women
more comfortable and confident about considering a job with the CIA.
� The target uses a variety of general media outlets to obtain information. The CIA should
place ads in female-oriented and special interest publications likely to be read by women.
Additionally,' ads should be placed where they will be noticed by women who commute to
work and school (e.g., subways, billboards, bus stops).
Key Changes Over Time
� Only one study was conducted with this target segment so changes cannot be identified.
Impact of Research on Advertising Development
� The target appreciates an ad campaign that speaks to working mothers and emphasizes
work/life balance issues, which are particularly important to many women.
� However, be wary of alienating the younger female target who still values work/life balance,
but does not yet relate to working mother scenarios.
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(b)(3)
� Women tend to like images of "regular" looking women in professional settings as opposed
to women who look like models and appear too posed or superficial. Additionally, the target
does not relate to images of women who look aloof and secretive, which simply reinforce
their current stereotypica perceptions of CIA employees.
a new generation.
� The target likes ads that communicate that women can work for the CIA and still have a life
outside of the office.
� Visuals of women who appear to easily handle work and raising a family are not credible
with this audience. Ads must be careful not to reinforce the outdated stereotype that
women can do it all.
� None of the general diversity ads were particularly appealing or relevant to this target.
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� The CIA might consider developing separate ad campaigns for younger and older female
prospects. Women have different needs and expectations for a job and a career depending
on their age and life-stage, which are difficult to capture in a single advertisement.
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