The Socioemotional Skills of Women for Intelligence Performance in the National Intelligence Directorate in Colombia

Traditionally, security issues in Colombia have been operated by military institutions with a high percentage of male participation. Since the creation of the National Intelligence Directorate (NID) in 2011, this masculinized and militarized environment of security issues has been transformed by the creation of a civilian institution with 45.7% female participation in highly recognized profiles. The participation of women in the institution has exposed socioemotional skills that characterize their strategic role at the NID. To research how gender distinction in socioemotional skills influences intelligence processes within the NID, eight semistructured interviews were conducted with seven women and one man, and a specialized literature review on the building of socioemotional skills distinction by gender was carried out. There were three main results: first, the NID has gender parity because, being a civilian agency, it clashes with a masculinized tradition of other military-based national intelligence agencies; second, the representative participation of women in strategic roles within the NID demonstrates that their socioemotional skills are a useful resource for intelligence activity; third, on the one hand, the overexploitation of socioemotional skills and “smart intelligence” leads to overburdening women in their tasks and responsibilities on both professional and personal levels, but on the other hand, it is harder for women to show results and be recognized for their work in the Colombian Intelligence Community

Developmental psychology · Emotional intelligence · Institution · Political science · Public relations · Social science · Socioemotional selectivity theory · Sociology · Conflict, Peace, and Violence in Colombia · History and Politics in Latin America · International Relations in Latin America · Psychology · Social Psychology

• Women in intelligence

  Nicole K Drumhiller•Intelligence & National Security•2025

  Incluir item

• Seguridad Ontológica en una Nación Ansiosa

  Open Access•César Niño, Irma Liliana Vásquez-Merchán et al.•International and Multidisciplinary…•2023

  Incluir item

• Women in Intelligence

  Open Access•Djoko Andoko, Poppy Setiawati Nurisnaeny et al.•Gender Issues•2024

  Incluir item