RECOMMENDATIONS FOR OVERCOMING OBSTACLES TO WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN CYBERSECURITY AT THE COMPANY LEVEL
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SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF YOUNG PROFESSIONALS 1.1. Participate in mentoring programmes for female students, build sustainable relationships with universities to develop the talents of female students in cybersecurity-related fields: • Create a list of universities that your company will support • Conduct communications, prepare and sign Memoranda of Understanding on talent development among female students with the support of your company's specialists • Create an action plan, implement it and publicise your achievements 1.2. Provide suggestions for improving educational programmes and professional standards, become a stakeholder in cybersecurity education programmes at universities: • Get information about the educational programmes of higher education institutions that your company can join as a stakeholder, select and document (for example, sign a memorandum) your status as a stakeholder for the selected educational programmes • Work according to the HEI's calendar plan on the implementation of selected educational programmes, in particular, participate in their accreditation, provide recommendations for its improvement or supplementation with disciplines related to gender equality in cybersecurity • Participate in the work on updating professional standards in the field of cybersecurity, make proposals on gender equality norms in professional standards • Participate in public hearings, roundtables, and other public events related to updating professional standards in the field of cybersecurity, insist on the need to update professional standards with the fixation of norms that help to remove obstacles to the professional realisation of women in the field of cybersecurity 1.3. Offer projects to engage young professionals with basic cybersecurity competencies in your company's tasks:
• Implement internship programmes for female university students at your company, engage them in real-world cybersecurity tasks under the guidance of experienced professionals • Invite young women to participate in working groups, brainstorming sessions, public and business communications, document processing, technical tasks facing your company, etc. to demonstrate the full cycle of the company's work in the field of cybersecurity and improve the skills of young women 1.4. Try to create a competitive financial offer for female cybersecurity professionals who have the same qualifications as professionals in IT and other competitive industries
Recommendations for overcoming obstacles to women's professional development in cybersecurity at the company level
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR OVERCOMING OBSTACLES TO WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN CYBERSECURITY AT THE COMPANY LEVEL 1.5. Provide more information about your company's open cybersecurity positions, their benefits and career opportunities for women, use more channels to disseminate information about such positions, and focus on the possibility of employing women on an equal footing with men for your cybersecurity positions 1.6. Set the same expectations for the professional skills of specialists of different genders
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STIMULATE CAREER DEVELOPMENT 2.1. Organise corporate educational events on gender equality and develop a corporate policy that takes into account gender equality issues: •
Emphasise the possibility of additional leave, sick leave or other social guarantees related to the birth and upbringing of children, care for family members in need, etc. for both women and men
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Provide equal opportunities to choose a flexible working schedule, remote or hybrid work format to your company's employees who need it for family or other reasons
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Provide equal opportunities for corporate training, competence development, professional networking, presentation of your company at external events, participation in corporate social responsibility projects for your company's specialists
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Refrain from introducing “masculine” and “feminine” styles in your company's corporate clothing, as well as in the design of premises or corporate products, provide more opportunities for women to be equal in choosing their style of clothing, communication, and creating comfortable working and communication conditions for them
2.2. Maintain a corporate culture that encourages women to pursue careers in cybersecurity, and hold events to help women understand their own career opportunities: •
Hold corporate meetings with inspirational women from cybersecurity and other fields
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Recommend a list of motivational literature, including soft skills and leadership development
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Support business education in cybersecurity for women in your organisation who want to climb the career ladder to management positions
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Set an annual KPI that will encourage your company's women to master new standards in their professional field: take additional training, certification seminars, refresher courses, etc.
2.3. Make sure that women and men have equal opportunities to build a career at middle and senior management levels in your company:
Recommendations for overcoming obstacles to women's professional development in cybersecurity at the company level
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR OVERCOMING OBSTACLES TO WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN CYBERSECURITY AT THE COMPANY LEVEL • Offer equal career development opportunities to women and men in your organisation, and evaluate them solely on their professional achievements and experience • Maintain an unbiased view when considering external candidates for management positions in your company, in particular, refrain from using stereotypes based on gender, age, marital status, psycho-emotional characteristics, etc. • Form your company's supervisory board in compliance with gender equality standards 2.4. Strive to achieve at least 30% representation of women in middle and senior management
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RETRAINING AND RETURNING TO THE PROFESSION •
Develop guidelines for career development in cybersecurity for women who are temporarily out of work
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Encourage retraining for professionals who have served in the military, held positions requiring sensitivity, engineering or technical training, or have experience in other areas related to strong management skills
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Develop and implement adaptation programmes for women after long-term leave
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Plan the timing and duration of corporate events and activities, taking into account the family commitments of team members of different genders
PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION AND CONCERN FOR SAFETY 4.1. Take into account the opinions of specialists of different genders when solving professional problems to have a broader and more balanced view 4.2. Eliminate pay gaps between men and women 4.3. Establish an appropriate response mechanism and ensure that women can safely report any situations that may have signs of sexism in your team 4.4. Prevent bullying of female cybersecurity professionals by other team members: • Hold regular company-wide events that allow professionals from different areas to get to know each other and allow HR to identify and respond to signs of bullying and other unacceptable behaviour at an early stage • Include the inadmissibility of bullying and other unacceptable behaviour in the company's corporate rules, and make sure that the entire team is familiar with and understands these rules • Periodically carry out internal corporate communications on equal opportunities, freedom of choice, diversity and other global trends in human resources management
Recommendations for overcoming obstacles to women's professional development in cybersecurity at the company level
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR OVERCOMING OBSTACLES TO WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN CYBERSECURITY AT THE COMPANY LEVEL 4.5. Ensure that the company does not show signs of ageism and other prejudices against women at the stage of recruitment, retraining, and career development: • Check whether the norms of the current legislation of Ukraine on the inadmissibility of age and gender restrictions are observed when creating vacancy announcements • Create a proposal for professional development, additional training or retraining opportunities that will be useful and interesting for representatives of all age groups in your team • Control the inadmissibility of using actions or statements in the team that disrespect or humiliate women on the basis of gender, appearance, age, etc. 4.6. Develop a mechanism for legal and psychological assistance to women who have been victims of unlawful acts, including those listed above, and inform the team about the mechanism of such interaction
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PROMOTE OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN IN CYBERSECURITY 5.1. Share stories of successful women in cybersecurity 5.2. Encourage your company's female professionals who have already achieved success in cybersecurity to actively speak, blog, share their experiences, communicate with high school girls, students, and representatives of other business areas, and become role models for women in cybersecurity 5.3. Initiate, support and participate in competitions for the best employer for women in cybersecurity 5.4. Interact with professional women's associations and communities both in cybersecurity and in other areas, including international communities, to gain new experience, learn effective gender equality practices and implement them in your company's cybersecurity 5.5. Inspire female cybersecurity experts to stay in the profession and reach new professional heights: • Use tangible and intangible rewards for professional achievements • Cover the activities of your company's cybersecurity specialists in publications in national and international media • Tell the success stories of your company's cybersecurity professionals on corporate resources • Initiate nominations for state awards for your company's experts who have special achievements before the state and the people of Ukraine 5.6. Be “cybersecurity ambassadors” for your personal social circle, in particular for girls and women who consider cybersecurity as a field of professional growth
Recommendations for overcoming obstacles to women's professional development in cybersecurity at the company level