Love on the Job, CIA Style

July 11, 2007 — -- They work in the shadows, trade in secrets and travel the world's capitals. They are the women of the CIA.

The exact number of America's women spies and analysts is classified information, though estimates top 1,000. Now a handful of them are accusing the CIA of gender discrimination, saying the agency unfairly faulted them for falling in love with foreign men.

Popular figures like James Bond often intertwine their spy life with love life, but in real life, CIA officers are barred from having any unauthorized contact with foreign nationals. The woman involved in the case against the CIA, filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, says the agency applied a double standard by imposing tougher consequences on women than on men.

Lora Griffith, an operative for roughly 20 years, filed the EEOC complaint. She cannot say exactly what she did for the CIA — her work was classified — but she hinted that her job included cloak-and-dagger tactics in dangerous places and at the height of the Cold War.

"The Soviet Union was leaving Afghanistan, so that was a big issue in the world at the time," Griffith told ABC News.

But in the midst of her work, Griffith crossed a line: Her professional relationship with a foreign counterpart turned personal.

"We had a close relationship. … When I felt that I had feelings for the person, I suggested that the case be turned over to another officer," said Griffith.

It was that romance, she says, that cost her her job. The CIA, on the other hand, says that Griffith was not truthful and that she disclosed classified information without authority, claims she has denied.

Griffith is the only woman to file a formal complaint so far, but other women formerly with the CIA tell similar stories of a double standard. They have hired lawyers and hope to join the complaint.

All of the women say they lost their security clearance because of their romantic relationships, making it impossible for them to continue doing their jobs. In some cases they were simply terminated.