article_snippet: That's according to a report released Thursday by Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee.
article_snippet: a report released Thursday by Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee recommends targeting women, including mothers and those who are middle-aged or mid-career, to help break through "the permafrost" of men in middle management "who have a very traditional male mentality and outlook.
article_snippet: But lawmaker Hazel Blears, a committee member, said recruiting more women to the three intelligence and security agencies the committee oversees is a crucial way to change the intelligence agencies' sometimes hidebound culture.
article_snippet: In a sign of the changing times, the latest film iteration of British spy James Bond has had a female boss -- "M," played by Judi Dench.
article_snippet: But while women currently make up about 37% of the employees across the UK intelligence agencies, according to the Intelligence and Security Committee report, women make up fewer than one-fifth of those in senior roles.
article_snippet: If women need someone whose special skill is getting melted chocolate down her dog-haired jumper and not noticing, I'm women woman," posts one Mumsnet user.
article_snippet: Besides using women-focused outlets like Mumsnet to reach a new pool of talent, the committee recommends certain steps to make working for MI5, MI6 and Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) more tempting for women.
article_snippet: Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright -- who similarly looked into the position of women in the CIA -- backed the UK report and what the UK report said about the value of women in the intelligence agencies.
highlights_snippet: More women are needed to change the culture of Britain's intelligence agencies, report says .
  