The industry speaks: International Women in Cyber Day 2024

International Women in Cyber Day 2024 is on 1 September this year – a Sunday – so Cyber Daily is getting in early with the perspectives of women who are already working at the coal face and keen to get more women into the industry.

Here’s why getting more women into cyber matters, and some advice on how to advance in the field and grow your skills.

Lynn Dohm
Executive director of Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS)

Celebrating women in cyber is an important way to recognise the invaluable contributions women make to the cyber security industry. We’ve made tremendous progress in training and mentoring women in cyber security. Now, the industry must work to create inclusive environments that enable women to succeed and advance in cyber security roles.

Women bring outstanding skills and knowledge to cyber security, frequently outperforming their colleagues in all seven NICE categories and at all experience levels. Unfortunately, it is estimated that the number of women in cyber is in the range of just 20 to 25 per cent, a percentage that hasn’t changed in years. Even more concerning, women experience a significant lack of advancement opportunities, and the exclusion rate is higher than in most industries. Indeed, women hit a glass ceiling just six to 10 years into their cyber security career despite outperforming peers in communications and network security (60.6 per cent), cyber workforce training and awareness (62.3 per cent), cyber/IT leadership and management (64 per cent), and cyber/IT policy and governance (64.3 per cent).

International Women in Cyber Day is an opportunity to call attention to the many skills women bring to the table, acknowledge the issues they face, and identify ways the industry can become more inclusive. Adding diverse perspectives to the cyber security field will enable us to address evolving threats and close an ongoing workforce gap. We all succeed by having allies who actively disrupt the status quo and advocate for diverse talent in the field. To effectively guide women on their cyber security journey, we must focus on building connections, sharing knowledge, and learning from experienced professionals already in the field to make a significant impact in this industry.

Nicole Sundin
Chief product officer at Axio

AI has been a significant workforce accelerator and disruptor in the last couple [of] years. However, there are serious gender and racial inequalities that are present in these technologies. Women in technology and cyber security need to ask the appropriate questions around these models being utilised. How were they trained? And are they disproportionately disrupting the jobs of women over men?

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It’s also sad to say, but the pay discrepancy between men and women still exists. As a leader in your organisation, you must ask for transparency around this issue, advocate for others, and hold management accountable.

Women mentoring women is one of the best ways to help equalise leadership in the workplace. Women in leadership have an obligation to mentor other women, guide and listen to problems, and help elevate them in the workforce.

Every woman has been in a position where their ideas or point of view are either co-opted or restated for credit by a male counterpart. Call it out and take credit for your work and ideas.

Isabel Castillo
Cloud security analyst at Lastwall

Throughout my cyber security career, I’ve learned that focusing on skills and knowledge is far more impactful than focusing on gender. My approach has always been to deepen my expertise, ensuring my work speaks for itself. What’s crucial, though, is visibility and representation in the industry.

The under-representation of women in tech-related fields sends a subtle yet powerful message about who belongs in these roles. To challenge this, the industry must actively highlight and celebrate the achievements of women in cyber security. This effort isn’t just for the benefit of young girls; it’s equally important for boys to see women thriving in these spaces. By doing so, we can shift perceptions and foster an environment where everyone, regardless of gender, is encouraged and supported to pursue careers in tech. The future of cyber security depends on diverse perspectives, and this begins with changing the narrative around who can excel in this field.

Kylie Watson
Head of security, APJ MEA, at DXC Technology

The cyber security industry presents exciting career paths for women, and there’s never really a dull moment. At DXC Technology, we manage mission-critical services for some of the biggest brands around the world. Keeping our clients’ data safe is paramount – especially today, as many are leaning in on embracing AI.

Working for an organisation with more than 130,000 employees across over 60 countries and 3,000 security experts, it’s not always easy to manage so many people and complexities, but as a mother of three, I’ve learned to be flexible and make the most of quality time when I’m not immersed in an escalation. A significant challenge is balancing the unpredictability of incident response with one’s personal life, particularly for those of us with families. Another challenge is often being the only woman in the room, but I’ve realised that my voice is essential in shaping better solutions. Overcoming the perception of cyber security as a male-dominated industry is critical, and it starts with recognising the immense value women bring through problem solving, strategic thinking, and resilience.

Today, we need more technical women in engineering and security operations, but we also want women in the areas of risk and compliance, cyber security advisory, security project management, building roadmaps and helping customers identify the best applications for their environment. My advice for women aspiring to join this industry is to embrace continuous learning, seek mentorship, and build a strong network. At DXC, we offer our employees great flexible learning opportunities and training, which is important as continually upskilling and ensuring you are across the latest technologies is critical. The key to success is investing time in yourself and making the most of training programs offered by your organisation.

Christine Low
Head of observability for ANZ and Japan at Splunk

While the industry continues to grapple with the growing skills crisis, it is essential that cyber security leaders actively pursue and welcome potentially untapped pools of diverse talent, such as women. By broadening the types of people in cyber security, we will also bring more people into the fold who have high-value skills such as problem solving, strategic thinking, and resilience.

AI is also drastically changing the threat landscape, and as its influence continues to grow, we must make sure that it remains fair and unbiased. To do this, women must have a seat at the table to contribute to the evolution of AI.

While the industry is getting better at recognising the value of diversity, it is critical that we act now to help bring more women into leadership roles if we want to ensure that our industry remains resilient.

For women aspiring to join the cyber security industry, there are many transferable skills that the industry could benefit from. For those already working in a cyber role but looking to progress, surround yourself with mentors and supporters who can guide you, and embrace your distinct viewpoint as the powerful asset it is. Cyber security is a great career in a growing industry, so there’s no better time to get involved.

The opportunities are vast, and the impact women can make is immeasurable.

Mandy Andress
Chief information security officer at Elastic

In the face of a rising tide of new threats and tactics, the industry needs different perspectives for a varied yet nuanced approach to cyber security. Malicious actors work tirelessly to explore new tactics, find new vulnerabilities, and identify novel ways to bypass controls. A more diverse IT security team is better equipped to adopt the resourcefulness and the spontaneity of the ‘hacker mindset’ needed to counter these attacks. To mark International Women in Cyber Day, I’d like to suggest that our industry takes two crucial steps to include more women in our teams.

To encourage more diverse candidates and women to join cyber security roles, we need to broaden the scope of the qualifications we seek in candidates. Looking beyond traditional schooling and career paths, we must consider other skills and personality traits that might enhance the way we protect IT systems. Second, we need to work harder to encourage more women to join us. That might mean reviewing how and where we advertise roles so that news of open positions reaches more women.

In a multidisciplinary field like cyber security (or data science, for that matter), the routine exclusion of female viewpoints isn’t just a barrier to good work – it’s a vulnerability. And in my view, from my day-to-day experience as a CISO, a more diverse cyber security team is definitely a better cyber security team.

Jennifer Cheng
Director of Cybersecurity Strategy for Asia Pacific and Japan at Proofpoint

While progress is being made towards gender equality in the tech industry, the cybersecurity sector continues to lag behind. As of 2023, women occupy only 17 per cent of Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) roles in Fortune 500 companies. Leadership roles in cyber security demand a broad range of skills beyond purely technical expertise - from strategic thinking and risk management to communication and emotional intelligence. Today’s CISO needs to be a persuasive and empathetic leader, capable of guiding their organisation through complex security challenges, securing buy-in from executives, and aligning security strategies with overall business goals. These are skills often honed through diverse career paths and experiences.

With the cyber security industry facing a constant battle to find and cultivate skilled professionals, overlooking women’s potential in this field is a mistake.

To all the women considering a career in cyber security, don’t be afraid to take the leap. Every career change comes with a learning curve, but a wealth of resources and support is available. Enhance your skills with professional certifications and utilise platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn for valuable insights. Generative AI can also be a powerful tool in your learning journey. Many cyber security roles offer competitive salaries and hybrid work models, providing the flexibility to manage family and caregiving responsibilities.

This International Women in Cyber Day, let's empower more women to step into the cyber security industry and take up more leadership roles, bringing their unique perspectives and talents to the forefront of cyber security and building a stronger, more resilient digital future for everyone.’

Rachel Sands
Chief People Officer at Orro

It’s no secret that any workplace benefits from a diverse workforce. In the traditionally male-dominated industry of cyber security, creating opportunities for women to engage, contribute and excel is not just important - it's essential. At Orro, we're committed to fostering pathways that support women in progressing their careers and diversifying our industry.

Our Women in Technology Network is just one of the initiatives we've implemented to build lasting relationships among female colleagues, strengthening the presence and impact of women in our industry. Today, we acknowledge the incredible women in our workforce whose passion and dedication inspire us all to perform at our best.

We also see today as a moment to reflect on what more we can do to support our female colleagues, both now and in the future. We believe that only by creating an open and equitable workplace can we unlock our full potential. As Orro continues to grow, ensuring that we provide meaningful opportunities for women at every stage of their career remains a top priority. We are committed to working closely with our employees and partners to achieve this goal and to champion the success of women in cyber.

David Hollingworth

David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.