The Central Intelligence Agency released a recruitment ad last week featuring an agent who described herself as a “cisgender millennial” among other characterizations, but didn’t describe her job duties in the agency.
The ad profiles an unnamed 36-year-old “woman of color” who describes herself as “intersectional” and someone who has “been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder.”
“I am a woman of color. I am a mom. I am a cisgender millennial who has been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. I am intersectional, but my existence is not a box-checking exercise,” the agent says in the advertisement. “I am a walking declaration, a woman whose inflection does not rise at the end of her sentences suggesting that a question has been asked.”
“I refuse to internalize misguided, patriarchal ideas of what a woman can or should be,” she later adds.
The video was originally released March 25, but the CIA posted a shortened version of the ad to Twitter on April 28, drawing attention to the “woke” content.
The recruitment ad doesn’t address the necessary qualifications to be a CIA agent or what the job involves. The video was mocked on Twitter by viewers who called it an attempt to connect with “woke millennials.”
“The really telling thing about this video is that it speaks to the CIA’s assessment of who would be interested in working for them. Clearly, they think they have appeal to woke millennials – and they’re probably right,” author Matt Taibbi tweeted.
“The CIA used to be about mission to country. (I speak from experience) Now it’s now about demanding — and getting — accommodation to fix an emotional wound or advance a personal agenda,” former CIA Ops officer Bryan Dean Wright posted.
“America is less safe with this new CIA, and dangerously more political,” he added.
“The CIA: We’re so desperate that we may even hire losers like you! I mean, what else are you doing? Getting angry at people on Twitter? If you’re going to be a loser, be a LOSER AT THE CIA!” tweeted author John Hawkins.
“’My existence is not a box-checking exercise.’ As she then proceeds to tell the viewers each identity box she checks,” user Jim Foster posted, mocking the ad.
The CIA’s ad comes after the Federal Bureau of Investigation hired Scott McMillion as the agency’s first chief diversity officer.
“As our chief diversity officer, Scott is the right person to ensure that the FBI fosters a culture of diversity and inclusion and that our workforce reflects the communities we serve,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said of the move on April 20. “I’m grateful he has agreed to bring his talent, experience, and dedication to our Office of Diversity and Inclusion, where he will build upon the important work that others started.”
