What was it like for women working in Hoover’s FBI? episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 19, 2026 · 8 MIN

What was it like for women working in Hoover’s FBI?

from Curious City · host WBEZ Chicago

For decades, the FBI was a man’s world. Anybody else was just living in it, especially the administrative staff. In the last episode, we learned how the bureau recruited high school girls for clerical work during the 1940s. But for decades women were explicitly prohibited from becoming special agents. Western Springs resident Jane McCarty was hired out of high school in the late 1960s to work as a stenographer for the FBI. She held several positions during her more than four decades at the organization. Today, the former president of the Society of FBI Alumni talks about the ebbs and flows of women’s access to leadership and autonomy within the bureau. She endured a sexist work environment but later witnessed the first women become FBI special agents.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Feb 19, 2026

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What was it like for women working in Hoover’s FBI?

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