WOMEN SPOOKS OF THE WORLD
Excerpts of Remarks Delivered by Central
Intelligence Agency Director John O. Brennan and Dr. Madeleine Albright at the
CIA Women’s History Month Celebration
(March 19,
2013)
March 22, 2013
D/CIA
Brennan: Good morning CIA! I can’t tell you how wonderful it feels to say
that. [Laughter] Thank you.
It is wonderful being back here at CIA, and to
participate in this event. I also would like to welcome back to the Agency my
wife Kathy. She is here with us today and is looking forward to once again
participating in Agency activities, as she and I did for 25 years.
I’m
especially happy to be part of a celebration that honors women in the federal
service. During my three decades in government—including 25 years here at
CIA—I’ve seen firsthand the knowledge, leadership, courage, and dedication that
women bring to the table in meeting the most difficult missions, including the
intelligence mission.
Years from
now, when enough time has passed so that authoritative histories of the
post-9/11 counterterrorism campaign can be written, they will tell the story of
how quite a few extraordinary women, here at CIA and elsewhere in the
government, made truly decisive contributions to the war effort against
al-Qa‘ida and its affiliates.
And just
this year, we said farewell to a CIA legend, Jeanne Vertefeuille. An acknowledged
expert on counterintelligence and an East Bloc specialist, Jeanne led the unit
that identified Aldrich Ames as a mole.
She joined CIA in 1954 as a GS-4 typist and blazed
a trail for women in the Directorate of Operations—the forerunner of the
National Clandestine Service—at a time when it was overwhelmingly a male
enterprise. She worked her way up to leadership positions and retired as a
member of the Senior Intelligence Service in 1992.
In 1976 …
our History Staff says that of the Agency’s 98 key officials at that time, only
one was a woman. Some might regard that as ancient history, but it was only
four years before I joined CIA. [Laughter]
The situation is considerably different now, of
course—you’re laughing because I joined CIA that long ago? Yes, I am part of
ancient history! [Laughter]
This situation is considerably different now, of
course, thanks in part to leaders … [who] paved the way for the likes of Sue
Bromley, Fran Moore, Sue Gordon, Jeanne Tisinger, … and so many other women who
are part of the Agency’s leadership team today.
But, as an
organization, we can and must do better, leveraging the talents of women in our
workforce.
Nearly a year ago, David Petraeus asked our keynote
speaker, the Honorable Madeleine K. Albright, to head up the Director’s
Advisory Group on Women in Leadership, also known as the DAG. Her mandate was
to examine why more women GS-13 and above were not achieving promotions and
positions of greater responsibility at the Agency.
The DAG
published its findings last month. … I
was not here for the launch or completion of the study, but I have spoken to
Secretary Albright about the report several times and I fully support and
endorse the DAG’s findings and recommendations.
And I would
like to thank Secretary Albright and all the members of her team [names
removed] for all their hard work and dedication to this project. And now I’d
like to ask all of the DAG members to stand up so that we can give them a
richly deserved round of applause. [Applause]
What
Secretary Albright and the other senior advisors, such as Michèle Flournoy,
Justin Jackson, John McLaughlin, Mike Mullen, Fran Townsend, and the DAG
members came up with isn’t a generic re-telling of where the Agency is, or just
another study to put on the shelf. It goes beyond numbers and statistics to
address some very important aspects of our Agency’s culture.
The DAG drew
on the opinions of a great many officers … through a survey, focus groups,
interviews, meetings with Senior Advisors, and the DAG’s blog. They put a
tremendous amount of work into this effort, and the final report reflects it.
And perhaps
the most important point I want to make here is that the recommendations will
benefit not just women of our workforce, but the entire workforce. These
recommendations are about developing and managing all of our people in a way
that optimizes talent.
And I want
all our Agency’s leaders to embrace the standards outlined in the DAG’s
report—like providing actionable and timely feedback; being candid with
officers about the impact of the choices they make on their career; and seeking
creative, flexible workplace strategies that allow us to meet our mission.
Two of the
DAG’s ten recommendations—establishing clear promotion criteria from GS-15 to
SIS and expanding the pool of nominees for promotion to SIS—are already in
effect. But I must tell you that full implementation of all ten recommendations
will take years to accomplish.
Some of
these—like promoting sponsorship—are long-term initiatives intended to change
certain aspects of our culture. They’ll require sustained attention—and
sustained attention we will give them.
Accordingly, I have directed that the report’s ten
recommendations and as much of the report as possible be issued in unclassified
form. While most aspects of our intelligence mission need to remain classified,
we should be open, honest, and proud of our efforts to ensure that all
employees have the opportunity to reach their full professional potential.
[A senior
officer] has been named to lead the implementation of the DAG’s
recommendations, and she has my full and sustained support. I look forward to
working with her in applying these initiatives across the Agency. If we can get
the implementation right, we'll meet our mission even better.
And, of
course, on behalf of all of us at CIA, I want to express my deep gratitude to
Secretary Albright for her tremendous leadership and for providing such a great
service to our Agency. Her experience and knowledge were invaluable to this
project, and we could never have achieved as much as we did without her.
Secretary
Albright was, of course, America’s first woman to serve as Secretary of State,
and, at the time, the highest ranking woman in the history of the United States
Government. She remains a widely admired and highly respected authority on
international affairs, national security policy, and diplomacy, as well as a
committed advocate for democracy and human rights worldwide.
… So please,
everyone, join me in giving a warm Agency welcome to one of the Nation’s
greatest public servants and a true friend of CIA: The Honorable Madeleine K. Albright.
[Applause]
Dr. Albright: Thank you. Thank you very, very much.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I am delighted to be here and to welcome the
new Director—really a very, very kind introduction.
And I take to heart very much what you have said in
terms of the report and your support for it, because leadership comes from the
top and you are providing it in so many ways. So thank you—thank you so much.
I am certain that the President made the right
choice for our country in nominating you; whether you made the right choice for
your mental health in accepting it [Laughter] only time will tell! But you did
survive the Senate, which shows your grit and your capability of succeeding. So
I wish you the very, very best.
And this
morning, I am delighted to join with you here in observing Women’s History
Month.
I say that not because I recognize any distinction
between world history and women’s history or, for that matter, men’s. In my
view, these are really not separate categories but should be considered part of
a complete whole. I feel this very strongly and may even write about it in my
next book, so stay tuned.
Meanwhile, I
want to thank each of you for what you and the Agency accomplish on behalf of
our country. I know that, in the popular media, the CIA is often portrayed as
either evil or angelic, with a large dose of drama and glamour part of every
day. But what is almost never emphasized is how much time and labor goes into
the routine but vital job of collecting and analyzing information.
In my
earlier life, as UN Ambassador and then Secretary of State, I was known as a
consumer of intelligence—and I always had a voracious appetite. Each morning, I
read your briefings and special reports, and consulted with CIA experts on
everything from the Middle East and Central Asia to what sounds like the world’s
worst law firm: Mobutu, Mugabe, Milosevic, Kim Jong-il—and sons. [Laughter]
I always
wondered why the briefers stayed and watched me read—to see if I was moving my
lips. [Laughter] But I know—was there in
order to answer my questions. Along the way, I did ask many questions and I
received many helpful—although carefully hedged—answers.
I left
office believing that the CIA is imperfect—as any human organization is—but
that, collectively, you still know more about everything than most of us know
about anything, and that you make enormous contributions each day to the safety
and security of our people.
In the years
since, nothing has happened to change my opinion. So I was intrigued when, last
spring, former Director Petraeus invited me to participate in the Director’s
Advisory Group on Women in Leadership. And I want to thank everybody that
worked so hard on the DAG …. Really, you worked so hard, and we have now become
good friends, and thank you for all your work.
We were
joined by several outstanding outside advisers, and—some of whom are here
today—and finally, I would also want to thank the … senior Agency leadership,
and have been—who have been so supportive in all the work. I think it really
was remarkable.
Our mandate
was to examine and recommend changes in the Agency’s personnel practices as
they relate to the careers of women. And, to that end, we consulted widely, and
I really am so grateful to many of you that participated. The final report does
include these recommendations, and I think that they need—there is need for
significant reforms in how people are managed.
Employees
deserve to be judged fairly, rewarded equitably, and informed how and on what
basis decisions affecting their careers are made. Overall, there is a
requirement for better accountability, more transparency, and a greater
willingness to adapt to new circumstances.
I hope that
the report will be received in the same spirit with which it is offered, and
that its implementation will benefit both the Agency and its vital mission. And
so, I really am so encouraged by your remarks, Mr. Director, and—I guess you’ve
ordered everybody to call you John? [Laughter] So, [thank you] for everything
that you have done and will do.
So this
morning I was also invited here to share with you a bit of my personal history
and to offer my insights, any of which might be of interest to you. Time is
limited, so I’ll begin with the Twitter version of my biography. [Laughter]
Like many
Americans, I did not begin my life in this country. Instead, I was born in
Czechoslovakia only a few months before Hitler’s troops marched into the
capital city of Prague.
My father was a diplomat at the time and unwilling
to cooperate with the Nazis. And so my parents and I fled to England, which is
where we spent World War Two.
I was just eight years old when that conflict ended
and we returned to Prague. And because the fighting was over, my parents and I
expected to be able to settle in. But within a couple of years, the government
of Czechoslovakia was taken over by the Communists. And once again, my family
was forced into exile, this time sailing across the Atlantic to a new and
welcoming home.
We soon
moved to Colorado, where my father helped to establish a school of
international affairs at the University of Denver. And my own highest ambition
was to fit in with my classmates and become a bona fide American teenager.
My parents
weren’t a lot of help in the “blending in” department. [Laughter] Mainly
because my mother was this delightful nut who actually read palms at dinner
parties [Laughter] and would say to men while sitting next to their wives that
they were going to meet mysterious women. [Laughter] She also predicted that I
would have three sons and I have three daughters. [Laughter]
Meanwhile,
my father also wanted to fit in but he was very, very serious. In Colorado,
fitting in meant you went fishing. It’s just that he wore a coat and tie when
he fished. [Laughter]
In high school, when I went out on a date, he’d
follow along behind in the family car, later inviting the poor boy in for milk
and cookies. So I didn’t have a lot of second dates until I went away to
college. [Laughter]
When I did
go away it was to Wellesley, a women’s college in Massachusetts. And I had a
wonderful time and I received a fine education. But young women of that era
were being groomed more for marriage than for anything else.
We were part
of what we called the Silent Generation, but there were also a time and process
of transition, and my own feelings were certainly mixed. I hoped to pursue a
career that reflected my interest in journalism and world affairs. But I was
also in love and planned to get married right after graduation. I waited
actually three days. [Laughter]
Unfortunately, my new husband happened to work
for a newspaper in Chicago where I also wanted to work. And I had done the
right thing by working on a small paper in Missouri while he was in the Army.
And then we went to have dinner with his managing
editor in Chicago, and he said, “So what are you going to do, Honey?”
And I said I’m going to work on a newspaper. And he
said, “I don’t think so. You can’t work on the same paper as your husband
because of guild regulations.”
And even though there were three other newspapers
in Chicago at the time, he said, “Well, you wouldn’t want to compete with your
husband.”
So, instead of saying what I might say now—or you might
say [Laughter]—I basically saluted and went home. But I really didn’t—was not
able to forget about it. But what’s interesting is I recently came across a
letter that I had written when I was 24 and out of college for two years,
sitting at home with my twin daughters.
I concluded
that I had been naïve to think that I could compete in the job market with men.
And any competent interviewer would want to know what I would do if an
emergency arose with the babies, or if my husband switched jobs and I had to
leave town. I described myself as “a housewife who is dissatisfied with
housekeeping and who doesn’t know how to get out of the rut.”
Over the
next decade or two, as my husband and I raised our family, we did move whenever
he changed jobs. And I kept busy doing volunteer work, arranging car pools,
navigating a double-wide stroller through the streets of Georgetown.
There were
many satisfactions in being a mother, but I eventually decided to return to
school and started my PhD work. And I used to get up every morning at 4:30 to
write my dissertation. I finally finished—I started when my children were two,
I finished when they were in junior high—when my daughter said, “Mom, if you
can’t finish your paper, we’re never going to finish ours.” [Laughter]
When I
was—when my children were older, I took a job in Washington with then United
States Senator Ed Muskie, and then I later served in the Carter Administration
on the National Security Council. And in all that time, I never imagined that I
would one day become Secretary of State. And it wasn’t that I lacked ambition.
It’s just that I had never seen a Secretary of State in a skirt.
I’ll never
forget what it was like the first day after I was sworn into my job and walked
down that mahogany hallway at the State Department where all the portraits of
my predecessors were hung. And the only difference among them was those who
were clean-shaven and those who had beards.
And I
imagined that my—that when my portrait went up, that the walls would shake a
bit. Actually they did. [Laughter]
Obviously, this was a pivotal moment that altered
perceptions and changed history. And in fact, given what has happened more
recently with secretaries Rice and Clinton, we can now say that John Kerry is a
source of inspiration for little boys everywhere. [Laughter, applause]
And by the
way, my youngest granddaughter—when she turned seven, which is about three
years ago—she said, “So what’s the big deal about Grandma Maddy being Secretary
of State? Only girls are Secretary of State.” [Laughter]
But looking
back on my career, you might detect a lot of juggling, which all people who
work—and especially women—have to do.
And as my career progressed, I had my share of
setbacks and inner doubts, but I was also stubborn. When criticized by the
media, I explained that the reason that I looked fatter was that I had grown a
thicker skin. [Laughter]
I was also
determined to succeed and felt after a while that I had truly found my voice
and that some people, at least, were listening to it. And that’s why I remain
truly grateful to President Clinton, not only for nominating me to two
cabinet-level positions, but for backing me on many of the key decisions during
our years in office. I was proud to be in his administration and absolutely
loved my job.
To me, a
career in public service, especially as a representative of the American
people, is all anyone can ever ask for. And in that spirit, I offer my respects
to all of you, for what—that you would not be here if you had not earned the
trust of our government.
The
challenge, always, is to make the most of the opportunity. And that requires
both that you do your job to the best of your ability, and that you stand up
for your rights.
And this in turn demands leadership, which has been
the subject of countless self-help books—none of which I have read. [Laughter]
Unlike some public speakers—Donald Rumsfeld for one—I
never developed a catchy list of leadership rules. I don’t have any favorite
motivational slogans or quotations from Napoleon. And I find a lot of standard
advice to be self-evident, useless, or worse.
For example,
I have found that telling a person who is chronically indecisive to be
confident does little good, and that advising a person to trust her instincts
can actually cause harm when addressed to someone who has extremely strong
opinions that are usually wrong. [Laughter]
I do,
however, have a few suggestions, which you can take for what they’re worth.
Years ago, I noticed that, in the classes I teach
at Georgetown, female students were generally more polite than boys. And then I
also remembered myself sitting in meetings and thinking that I might want to
say something, and then thinking, no, I won’t say it because people will think
it’s stupid.
And then,
two people later, some man says it and everybody thinks it’s brilliant. And you sit there and you’re so mad at
yourself for not having spoken up. And everybody thinks that whatever Bill said
had been so smart.
Now in my
classes, the girls tended to sit quietly and raise their hands. And this often
meant that the boys were able to dominate the discussion. Ever since then, I
have told my female students not to be afraid to interrupt. They don’t raise
their hands—my classes are a bit of a zoo. [Laughter]
But the
bottom line is that they learn to speak up. In our era, it’s better to risk
being thought rude than to give the impression that you have nothing to say.
A second lesson I learned when serving as America’s
ambassador to the United Nations. And that—I have to say here I had given all
this advice about not sitting in a meeting and not speaking and telling my
students to raise their hands, but I walk into my first meeting at the Security
Council—not in that big fancy room, but in that—the room where we have our
informal discussions—and I sit there, and there are 14 men looking—sitting
there and looking at me—and I’m thinking, well, I think I’ll just wait, and see
if they like me [Laughter] and what the mood of the room is.
And then I
looked at the sign in front of me, and it said, “United States.” And I thought
if I didn’t speak on that day, then, in fact, the voice of the United States
would not be heard. And—I really—it was kind of an out-of-body experience.
I couldn’t
sit around and play it safe. I had to plunge ahead. After a while I got used to
it and, before long, nobody could shut me up! [Laughter]
My point is that, in any group, someone has to lead
and it might as well be you—when if you—and you have to be prepared to do so.
A third lesson I learned is not to be obsessed by
the clock. I was 39 years old before I had my first professional job. I was 55
when I became UN ambassador and four years older than that when I became
Secretary of State.
My friend,
Senator Barbara Mikulski, says she worked for a quarter of a century to become
an overnight success. [Laughter]
There is no question that we live in a
youth-oriented culture. But when it comes to generating results, experience and
character count far more than a wrinkle-free face.
My fourth point is not to let anyone else tell you
what you can do and where you belong. You may have ambitions that go beyond
what others expect. These desires may surprise your friends and inconvenience
some who are close to you. But you have to make the choice.
You have to
decide whether to allow others to define the boundaries of your life—or to
chart your own course even if you’re not entirely sure where you’re going. No
one can make that choice for you—and no path is inherently right or wrong.
My only
advice is to act out of hope, not fear, and to take responsibility for whatever
you decide.
Finally, I have one message that I always insist on
sharing with professional women, and that is to look around the room at the
faces of your colleagues and remember that there is a special place in Hell
reserved for women who refuse to help one another. [Laughter, applause]
None of
us—none of us get to where we are on our own. And none of us will get to where
we want to go unless we move forward together.
And if you remember nothing else from what I’ve
said this morning—remember that.
So thank you very, very much, and thank you all for
giving me the opportunity to be a part of your family. I hope I get to stay.
Thank you very much. [Applause, standing ovation]
