While most organizations today remain aware of the ongoing cybersecurity threats, there is a constant struggle to keep pace with them. Much of this has to do with a lack of resources and talent available in cybersecurity as a whole, with many organizations forced to take shortcuts in their security planning.
As alarming as this cybersecurity talent gap is, there is another noticeable gap when it comes to demographics in these types of roles. Today, women still only represent around 25% of all current roles in cybersecurity.
This imbalance of female and male workers in cybersecurity highlights the need for organizations to be more aware of their role in helping to avoid gender bias and play a part in right-sizing the differential.
Why Diversity in Cybersecurity Needs More Attention
Diversity is an important topic of conversation in all industries, especially in highly technical areas like cybersecurity. Because despite increases in women educated in these technical areas, employment numbers are not changing over time. Below are some of the current challenges the industry is facing:
Unapproachable Role Descriptions
Although hiring managers may have a specific type of person in mind when drafting their job descriptions, they may often underestimate the intimidation factor of the type of verbiage they use.
Many cybersecurity role descriptions today can be incredibly overwhelming, filled with a never-ending list of qualifications or next-to-impossible combinations of technical and soft skills. This can often discourage many people – especially women – from putting their hat in the ring. In fact, studies have shown that women are more likely than men to self-select themselves out of a job application based on the job description.
Limited Access to Higher Caliber Positions
Another major challenge in cybersecurity is the apparent lack of advancement opportunities, especially for female employees. Regardless of qualifications, women can often find their career progression unintentionally throttled by factors such as a lack of diverse mentors and career champions.
This throttling – whether done consciously or not – has had major ripple effects on the number of women in higher-caliber positions. The lack of representation in this area could be another reason why females have found the cybersecurity industry as a whole to be outside of their best interests.
How Women Are Contributing to Improved Cybersecurity Effectiveness
Even though the cybersecurity industry is still male-dominated, the current and ongoing positive impact that females are introducing to the sector is hard to ignore.
Broader Perspectives and New Approaches to Problem Solving
The most impactful cybersecurity initiatives are born out of a blend of creativity and strategic planning. Having a more diverse workforce contributes to a wider range of perspectives and ideas to spark creative thinking.
Women bring a number of unique strengths to the table when it comes to offering innovative problem-solving and collaboration in group settings.
By encouraging and contributing individual experiences and acquired knowledge, women can help to facilitate a much more holistic security approach. This can be done by adopting more nuanced approaches to risk management, including penetration testing and security audits, as well as being an active voice when it comes to raising important questions and thinking outside of the box.
Proven Leadership Capabilities
Successfully responding to security incidents requires leadership teams who can handle sustained pressure while making calculated decisions. Even though women as a group have proven to bring valuable leadership traits in professional settings, they still continue to be underrepresented in these critical security leadership roles
Various studies have demonstrated that female leaders are often viewed as more trustworthy in times of organizational crisis and when building more resilient teams. These skill sets can easily be applied to a number of important organizational objectives, including meeting rigorous compliance standards or certifications such as HITRUST or navigating various other industry regulations successfully.
Wide Range of Skill Sets
Women often bring a valuable mix of both technical and soft skills when entering the cybersecurity field. This includes excellent listening skills, problem-solving, and the ability to manage various projects successfully. While these abilities are unfortunately underutilized in certain roles, this doesn’t present an opportunity for organizations to start getting more out of the security roles they put in place.
Having a wide range of skills at your disposal can be a great asset when executing important initiatives like vendor risk management and ensuring security compliance. Having more employees who can clearly communicate critical gaps in security protocols and work with outside parties to stay in alignment with regulatory changes can be a huge asset for any organization.
Giving Future Female Cybersecurity Leaders the Platform They Deserve
Despite long-standing biases, organizations must work together to help improve the diversity in cybersecurity leadership roles. By providing female professionals with more opportunities, resources, and support, we can create a more inclusive and equitable environment for everyone while furthering advancements in all areas of cybersecurity.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author, and should not be construed as endorsements by Cyber Defense Magazine or Cyber Defense Media Group.
About the Author
Nazy Fouladirad is President and COO of Tevora, a global leading cybersecurity consultancy. She has dedicated her career to creating a more secure business and online environment for organizations across the country and world. She is passionate about serving her community and acts as a board member for a local nonprofit organization. Nazy can be reached online at (LinkedIn,) and at our company website: https://www.tevora.com/
Email: [email protected]
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