On a surface level, there doesn't seem to be much room in the Cold War-era intelligence community for women -- the very narrow sectors of it I've read about sound like a full-on boys' club, with connections made through all-male venues and agents positioned in gender-restricted career roles. Were there roles performed primarily by women, or in which women were active? (If so, how were women recruited for these roles?) Did the nominal gender equality in Soviet countries impact the gender balance in countries like the USSR?
The Soviet Union in fact had a number of their own female spys,
These included Elizabeth Terrill Bentley who was a member of the Communist Party USA who was one of the most important soviet spy’s in the US. 1
Ethel Gee served the KGB in the Portland Spy Ring in England for over two years before her arrest,
Gunvor Galtung Haavik was a Norwegian KGB agent for 27 years. She had over 270 meetings where she shared Norwegian classified information on foreign policy. 2
Hede Massing was a n Austrian actress and Soviet operative with the code name RedHead. She conducted surveillance in the United States until 1937.
Ethel Rosenberg also provided top-secret information about radar, sonar, and jet propulsion engines and were accused of transmitting valuable nuclear weapon designs with her husband, Julius. They were executed via electric chair in 1935. 3