7 minute read
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 with these cars was not with driving them but with understanding what made them move; I would deconstruct out of curiosity. Typically, the same behaviours in young boys would be praised and perhaps even followed with remarks along the lines of “He is going to be an engineer one day, or a scientist.”
At the time, my interests were not widely considered the ‘stereotypical feminine interests’. You may remember the television commercials for the iconic Hot Wheels Racetrack: they were typically directed at boys, whilst the Barbie and My Little Pony commercials were directed towards young girls. I sometimes wonder, had I received the same push to consider a STEM-based career as a young boy showing the same interests as I, would I have entered the cybersecurity industry sooner than I did?
I got together with some friends in the tech industry—Kavika Singhal, Jay Hira, Emily Goodman and Shinesa Cambric—to ask some questions and discuss the issues around attracting women into the cybersecurity industry and retaining them.
Question 1: WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE GENERAL PERCEPTION OF CYBERSECURITY AND WHAT CAN WE, AS AN INDUSTRY, DO TO IMPROVE IT?
Kavika Singhal
Kavika’s answer: I’m sure many people would imagine a dark room with a hooded person behind a computer, wearing glasses and typing rapidly. Perhaps lines of code scroll down the screen. Is this really cybersecurity?
The predominant discussions in the cyber industry today include the skills shortage. In 2021 Cybercrime Magazine predicted 3.5 million job vacancies by 2025: evidence of this growing concern.
The career choices of our young people could contribute significantly to closing this gap; hence their choices demand our close attention. An individual’s perception of their chosen field is ranked as one the most important factors determining their choice. Other important factors are their assessment of job stability and their belief that people in their chosen industry with have similar personality traits and interests. Entertainment, news and media often shape the perceptions held by young people today, and influence visualisation of their future selves.
To change the daunting stereotypical image of cybersecurity, we industry representatives need to lead by creating a more realistic image of cybersecurity. Perhaps we could volunteer with foundational STEM institutes that cater to high schoolers and university students or produce interesting content about our cybersecurity journeys by writing or blogging. Company websites and job recruitment agencies should have clear representations of the diverse industry we work in. Images of women and men from diverse cultural backgrounds should be the face of advertising. These are some small steps that could make huge changes to the perceptions of cybersecurity in our society.
Question 2: DO YOU THINK A LACK OF FEMALE INTEREST IN STEM-BASED COURSES IS ONE OF THE REASONS WOMEN ARE UNDERREPRESENTED IN CYBERSECURITY? HOW DO WE INCREASE CHILDREN’S INTEREST IN STEM?
Jay Hira
Jay’s answer: I do not necessarily agree with the premise of the question that there is a lack of female interest in STEM. I believe women have always been a part of STEM, but light has not often been shone on them. Most people, myself included, did not learn about the brilliant female problem solvers who were the brightest mathematicians of their generation, and integral to NASA’s space race, until we watched the movie Hidden Figures.
Lack of interest in STEM-based courses may come from adult suggestions (parents and teachers). Boys often get pushed towards maths and science subjects while girls are encouraged to take arts and humanities.
STEM can be made fun for all children. Let’s take the simplest daily cooking routine - we can make it educational and fun by explaining how water evaporates when boiled and turns into ice when exposed to lower temperatures. I firmly believe STEM education needs to be promoted differently. Rather than being seen only as a pathway to high-paying careers, it needs to be seen as teaching valuable skills and core competencies that children need to acquire. STEM allows you to experiment and evaluate information objectively, which positively impacts how our children and future leaders view and navigate the world.
Question 3: HOW DO WE LOWER TRADITIONAL BARRIERS AND ATTRACT LATERAL THINKERS WITH DIVERSE EXPERIENCES TO WORK IN CYBERSECURITY?
Emily Goodman
Emily’s answer: It is now more important than ever to lower traditional employment barriers and bring more women—and more people with diverse experiences— into cybersecurity and keep them there. Traditionally cyber roles have required specific qualifications, industry experience and technical skills. An applicant needs all these to be successful, but missing from this traditional list of cyber requirements are other factors that contribute to success: an individual’s driving passion; the motivation to learn new skills; and the innovativeness that comes from having diverse experiences.
It is common for women to have less confidence in their job role abilities than their male counterparts. This lack of confidence could stem from selfcriticism, imposter syndrome or from taking time away from a job to have a personal life. It is important for leaders and executives to embrace inclusivity, and to focus especially on getting women into the cybersecurity industry. Encouraging mentorship, showing recognition and appreciation and building a collaborative work culture are crucial steps needed to achieve these goals. Women wishing to make a career move laterally into the cyber industry should be able to seek advice from other professionals and receive correct information on how they can progress their careers. Workplaces need to provide benefits such as maternity leave, pathways for education and opportunities for career fulfillment.
The most important initiative is to strongly advocate for the women who are helping to shape the future of the cyber industry.
Question 4: WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE THE ESSENTIAL SKILLS NEEDED TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL CAREER OR BUILD SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATION WITHIN CYBER? HOW MIGHT THE ESSENTIAL SKILLS REQUIRED CHANGE OVER THE COURSE OF A WOMAN’S CAREER IN CYBER?
Shinesa Cambric
Shinesa’s answer: Beyond getting women into cybersecurity, we need to support and equip women in ways that will keep them there. In 2020 it was estimated that women accounted for only 20 percent of the cybersecurity workforce. With the ever-increasing costs of cybercrime there can be a financial impact on businesses that fail to develop a strong and sustained pipeline for women to enter and stay in cybersecurity careers. Women are poorly represented in some cybersecurity career stages. This can discourage other women from striving for a successful, progressive career, not realising some of the essential skills will change over the course of their career.
One of the most important skills a woman can develop and use throughout her career is a sense of empathy. Empathy can be a strong driver when it comes to identifying and solving problems and determining which solutions may work better than others. Having empathy also supports the ability to build relationships and diverse social networks, which are critically important foundations of a sustainable career.
In addition to empathy, it is important for a woman to stretch herself, raise her hand for opportunities and be flexible in charting her career path. Having a bias towards action and accepting growth opportunities will help propel a woman to the next stage of her career, whether that be as an individual contributor or in a management role. This will enable her to build credibility and confidence as she takes on new
challenges. Then, as a woman continues to progress to the next stage of her career, it will be important she advocates for, and reaches back to, those coming up behind her and presents as an example of the leader she wishes to see. Finally, by being visible and celebrating success, both she and the women around her can further encourage other women to enter and stay in the cyber field so the pipeline continues to grow and the cycle continues.
NEW TO 2023
CONCLUSION
Michelle Gatsi SO, HOW CAN WE AS AN INDUSTRY ATTRACT AND RETAIN WOMEN IN CYBERSECURITY?
What is apparent to me, based on the different perspectives and insights provided above, and my own personal experiences, is that we as an industry have some work to do. There is no simple solution to this question because there are multiple issues in all industry sectors that we must address. We need to work together as an industry to build on its expansion and diversity, because diverse perspectives produce quality outcomes.
