HOW DO WE ATTRACT WOMEN INTO CYBERSECURITY, AND RETAIN THEM? by Michelle Gatsi, Cyber Security Consultant at EY Kavika Singhal, Cyber Security Consultant at EY Jay Hira, Director of Cyber Transformation at EY Emily Goodman, Cyber Security Consultant at EY Shinesa Cambric, Principal Product Manager, Microsoft Intelligent Protections - Emerging Identity at Microsoft INTRODUCTION
Michelle Gatsi As the daughter of an automotive technician I grew up around a lot of cars. From kindergarten through to grade three my father would pick me up from school and take me back to his workshop where I would often watch him fix cars (from a safe distance of course) until it was time for us to go home. Virtually all my toys at home were model cars. My fascination
directed at boys, whilst the Barbie and My Little Pony
with these cars was not with driving them but with
commercials were directed towards young girls. I
understanding what made them move; I would
sometimes wonder, had I received the same push
deconstruct out of curiosity. Typically, the same
to consider a STEM-based career as a young boy
behaviours in young boys would be praised and
showing the same interests as I, would I have entered
perhaps even followed with remarks along the lines of
the cybersecurity industry sooner than I did?
“He is going to be an engineer one day, or a scientist.” I got together with some friends in the tech
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At the time, my interests were not widely considered
industry—Kavika Singhal, Jay Hira, Emily Goodman
the ‘stereotypical feminine interests’. You may
and Shinesa Cambric—to ask some questions and
remember the television commercials for the
discuss the issues around attracting women into the
iconic Hot Wheels Racetrack: they were typically
cybersecurity industry and retaining them.
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S E P T E M B E R • O C T O B E R 2022
