to the Editor:
In their recent article, Matthew Connelly and Patricia Irvine raise several important points about the need for greater diversity in the US intelligence community. ,How secrecy limits diversity, May 12, 2023).
From the CIA’s point of view, we are working hard to create a more diverse workforce. Not only is this the right thing to do to reflect the richness and diversity of American society, but it’s also the smart thing to do as an agency with global responsibilities that operates in very complex, incredibly diverse landscapes around the world. ,
The authors discuss the need to reduce the amount of time between applying for a position with an intelligence agency and receiving a job offer. we agree. As CIA Director William Burns recently described in a speech at Rice University, we have increased staffing and modernized our application systems to address this problem. As a result, it now takes an average of less than 180 days to receive a final job offer from the CIA, compared to more than 600 days two years ago. We have also reduced the backlog of applications from 10,000 applicants two years ago to less than 50 today. In addition, we are expanding recruitment in all 50 states this year, and our focus is on recruiting potential executives who have strong language skills, as well as those who excel in a variety of STEM fields.
Our diversified efforts have also started paying off. Last year, we reached historic highs in hiring women and minority officers as well as officers with disabilities. And we promoted the highest percentage of women and minority executives to our senior ranks in our 75-year history, demonstrating that there is a path to the top for anyone whose work is worth it, regardless of their background .
We believe that much more remains to be done. At the CIA, we will continue to strive to improve the diversity of our workforce so that we can better protect the nation.
-Tammy Kuperman Thorp
Tammy Kuperman Thorpe is director of the Office of Public Affairs at the Central Intelligence Agency.
