How can more women be attracted into the cybersecurity profession? Evidence has been presented and discussed in a related Digital Journal article, which considers how businesses can get a grip on their cybersecurity by closing the gender gap.
The importance of seeking gender equality has been set out by Debi Dowling, Chief of Staff & VP of Strategic Programs at Onapsis.
Dowling explains to Digital Journal how investing in bringing more women into cybersecurity and closing this gender gap is crucial for the sector and business security alike.
Dowling explains: “According to the World Economic Forum, there’s a perception that awareness of cybersecurity is low among women and that the low participation of women in cybersecurity is due to a lack of access to cybersecurity education.”
Dowling takes issue with this, noting: “This is not true.”
In fact, Dowling argues: “82 percent of respondents to a global survey of female STEM undergraduate students said they had either some or a lot of knowledge about cybersecurity while 58 percent said they had access to cybersecurity education and 68 percent had already taken a cybersecurity-related course.”
STEM refers to the scientific, technical, engineering and mathematics fields. These four sectors share an emphasis upon innovation, problem-solving, and critical thinking. Combined, they make up a popular and fast-growing industry.
Given her above statement, Dowling poses the question: “What exactly is acting as a barrier to entry for women in cybersecurity and how do we create a more inclusive cybersecurity workforce?”
In answering this, Dowling postulates: “Well, it’s not as simple as just recruiting more women into cybersecurity roles. Emphasis needs to be placed on training and education as well as encouraging women and young girls to pursue cybersecurity as a career path by providing mentorship and access to other female role models within the industry.”
Seeing certain professions as the norm is important, and here Dowling proposes: “One of the biggest reasons that women don’t consider a career in cybersecurity is often because they’re simply not exposed to it as an option for them. As such, there remains a significant opportunity to attract more women into the field by exposing them to the broad and diverse positions available within cybersecurity from a young age (from secondary school to tertiary educational institutions) as well as through internships, projects, and other cybersecurity-related experiences like hackathons.”
Unless action is taken this will impact negatively on the area of cybersecurity, as Dowling predicts: “The underrepresentation of women in the cybersecurity sector has a direct negative impact on the security and protection of people, organisations, industries, and entire economies. That’s why the inclusion of more women in cybersecurity is critical to not only closing the talent shortages of cybersecurity professionals but also creating a cyberspace that is safer while enabling a more inclusive cybersecurity industry.”
