International Women’s Day is an excellent opportunity for reflection and taking stock of where we are and where we want to be. As we reflect on the progress made for gender equality across industries over the past year, it’s equally important to recognize the persistent challenges many women face in traditionally male-dominated industries, including cybersecurity.
This year, the Cybersecurity Tech Accord is reflecting on the significant barriers remaining to women’s empowerment in cybersecurity. We know that women face access and agency hurdles throughout their employment journey, from pipeline and recruitment to advancement and retention.[1] With women accounting for only 24% of the global cybersecurity workforce[2] and approximately 3 million unfilled cybersecurity vacancies[3], it is imperative that the industry takes action to help women enter and advance in the field.
Following the success of last year’s “#MyCybHerStory” campaign, the Cybersecurity Tech Accord and its signatory companies want to continue supporting the inclusion of women in the cybersecurity workforce. To this end, this year our signatories have committed to provide mentors, resources, and trainings to enrich the International Telecommunications Union’s Women in Cyber Mentorship Programme. The programme not only empowers women with the skills needed to become leaders in the cybersecurity field, but also connects the industry with a pool of talented women from all over the world, ultimately helping close the gender and workforce gaps in cybersecurity.
Some of the cybersecurity trainings made available by our signatories for the ITU Mentorship Programme include the following, provided by our signatory VU Security:
Digital Strategy and Cybersecurity
Two-Factor Authentication
Fraud Analysis
Customer Identity and Access Management
In addition, we are pleased to announce that the Tech Accord will host an interactive career webinar on 28 March titled #MyCybHERStory – exploring cybersecurity careers for women and girls with industry leaders, where women signatory representatives will share their experiences in the industry with women and girls interested in pursuing a cyber career. Participants can ask questions and hear from women leaders about their respective career paths and learn how they chose the right path and concentration according to their skillset and interests. Participants will also discuss the latest cybersecurity trends and the important role women can play within the cybersecurity community.
We hope that other companies will join our efforts to promote cybersecurity careers with women professionals, and encourage all women interested in pursuing a career in this field to join our #MyCybHERStory webinar. Information on our speakers will follow shortly on the Cybersecurity Tech Accord’s social media channels. Follow this link to register for the webinar.
[1] BCG, “Empowering Women to Work in Cybersecurity Is a Win-Win” (2022) https://www.bcg.com/publications/2022/empowering-women-to-work-in-cybersecurity-is-a-win-win
[2] (ISC)2, “Women in Cybersecurity: Young, Educated and Ready to Take Charge” (2019) https://www.isc2.org/-/media/ISC2/Research/ISC2-Women-in-Cybersecurity-Report.ashx?la=en&hash=4C3B33AABFBEAFDDA211856CB274EBDDF9DBEB38
[3] (ISC)2, “Cybersecurity Workforce Study” (2022) https://www.isc2.org//-/media/ISC2/Research/2022-WorkForce-Study/ISC2-Cybersecurity-Workforce-Study.ashx