What About Her? Increasing the Actionability of HUMINT in Paternalistic Cultures by Considering Female Intelligence

Abstract

Female intelligence refers to a gender-sensitive perspective in collection planning that not only recognizes women as targets of collection but also considers females as operatives. These considerations become especially relevant in paternalistic cultural contexts, such as Afghanistan. Potential obstacles (e.g., myths) for female intelligence as well as past attempts at implementation (e.g., female engagement teams) are reviewed, before four areas of concern are identified that must be addressed in the future. The analysis is expanded by presenting survey and interview data from a sample of Bundeswehr operatives with human intelligence experience in paternalistic countries. We suggest how to address existing concerns and increase the actionability of field human intelligence units by incorporating females as valuable assets on both sides of the military intelligence collection process.