The CIA’s Superwomen

Christina Hillsberg’s 'Agents of Change' recounts the slow but steady advancement of women at the CIA

Author and fomer CIA ops officer Christina Hillsberg

In Agents of Change: The Women Who Transformed the CIA, Christina Hillsberg, herself a former covert CIA operations officer, aims to write a “pop history” of women in the spy service. In this, she succeeds. Rather than focus on leadership per se, Hillsberg shines her light on “everyday women of the CIA who were doing extraordinary things.” Covering seven decades from the 1960’s to the 2020’s, she traces the career paths of individual women whose stories illuminate the personal and professional ambitions, challenges, and achievements of women at the agency.