Australian Signals Directorate's Rachel Noble warns of 'concrete block' ceiling for women in intelligence, STEM fields

Australian Signals Directorate director-general Rachel Noble outlined the history of women's achievements within the signals agency as it celebrates its 75^th year in operation.

But Ms Noble, who has held the top role since early 2020, also warned that unconscious gender biases remained in her field and were a reason for persisting wage and opportunity gaps.

"I don't think there is a glass ceiling - it's actually still a concrete block," she said in a speech at a Lowy Institute event on Friday.

"Today it is coated in advanced cloaking technology and I couldn't see it until I got senior enough to reach out and touch it."

She pointed to a situation in recent years where she was asked to take a coffee to a "senior bloke" before heading in to a meeting.

The agency head declined, reminding the female staff member she was the head of an agency.

"I wanted her to know, that a woman could get into that room, not to be the notetaker or the coffee bringer, but to sit at the table in her own right," Ms Noble said.

"Through our choice of words, we can unintentionally belittle women who show characteristics of strength, assertiveness and courage.

"Words like she's a witch - or worse - she's bossy, she's scary and so on. Characteristics where, if men display them, they are to be considered 'stately' and strong leaders."

Ms Noble said incidents, such as these, had made her become a feminist in recent years and reading examples from other notable female leaders, such as Julia Gillard, had brought her "some comfort" to know "they weren't all entirely in [her] imagination".

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The signals directorate, then known as the Defence Signals Bureau, was established in 1947 shortly after the success of codebreakers during World War II.

Ms Noble said much of the original codebreaking work was completed by women, who were later snubbed from roles due to rules disallowing wartime service women to remain enlisted in the military after the war ended.

Laws also prevented women from working in the public service once they were married.

"Under the Public Service Act at the time, a woman was deemed to have resigned when she married," she said.

"This measure wasn't repealed until 1966.

"Australia was one of the last countries in the developed world to get rid of such inequitable arrangements."