Hi, I’m Masha from Coding Blonde and today I’d like to take a look at what the cybersecurity
industry looks like as a whole.
So, women in cybersecurity.
Can you guess what role they play in the industry?
According to the 2019 Women in Cybersecurity study, women currently represent 24% of the
total cybersecurity workforce.
The number is up 11% since 2017.
The more women succeed in cybersecurity, the more likely they are to attract other women
into the field.
Representation matters!
It’s good news, since studies show that gender-diverse teams make better decisions
73% of the time.
And when a group is varied in both gender and age, teams saw an 80% chance of improved
choices.
It increased even more when teams were made up of diverse genders, ages, and geographic
backgrounds.But why does diversity impr75ove decision making so much?
Well, people with different backgrounds tend to bring different points of view to the table.
For example, one study showed that women in IT fields prioritize internal training, education
in security and risk management.
On top of that, a report by Earnst & Young found that in the next eight years women will
own 75% of the discretionary spend.
As consumers prioritize cybersecurity in their purchasing decisions, female IT professionals
can have a unique insight into how to make better women-oriented products.
So, what can be done to bring more diversity into the industry?
Well, there are some great programs aiming to close the gender gap in the tech field.
Girls Who Code is an initiative that aims to build a community of women in tech by providing
free computer science education to young females.
Women in Tech is another great initiative that aims to bring more women into STEM career
fields.
It focuses on Education, Entrepreneurship, Social Inclusion, Science & Innovation.
It provides coding programs, internships, scholarships, mentoring, and job opportunities
to women in the field.
There are many initiatives promoting diversity in tech globally, which I think is great - we
need inclusive solutions that solve problems for everyone.
And that can only be achieved when there’s equal representation of all types of demographics
at the decision making table.
Speaking of representation and role models, I think that’s one of the most powerful
ways to inspire women to explore their potential in the field!
Back when I started learning to code (and started my blog), I got inspired by pioneers
in the field - especially by Grace Hopper.
That’s why I’ve created my weekly newsletter, Women in Tech Weekly - celebrating achievements
and sharing resources of women in tech.
I believe that it helps women recognise their skills, achievements and celebrate their own
wins - as well as get inspired by others in the industry.
I hope you’re ready to get inspired by some amazing role models, because I’m about to
talk about 3 powerful women dealing with cybersecurity challenges every day.
Eva Galperin.
Director of Cybersecurity at Electronic Frontier Foundation.
She leads a team called the Threat Lab, which investigates how surveillance technologies
are used to target activists, communities, and individuals.
Eva is best known for her work against stalkerware.
This malicious software lets stalkers spy on their victims by gaining full access to
their device without their knowledge.
It’s often used in domestic abuse.
Eva has been working with stalkerware victims directly and has already made a difference
— one antivirus company is now alerting its users if a stalkerware app is installed
on their phone.
Katie Moussouris is the founder and CEO of Luta Security.
Katie is a bug bounty pioneer.
She created the bug bounty program at Microsoft and was the first one to work with the government
organizations in introducing bug bounty programs there.
Now she advocates responsible security research.
Magda Chelly.
The Chief Information Security Officer and Managing Director at Responsible Cyber.
Magda helps medium-sized enterprises and Fortune 500 companies in their cybersecurity strategies
and roadmaps.
She has been nominated as a Global Leader for Women in IT, is one of the top 50 cybersecurity
influencers globally, and one of the top 30 women leaders in cybersecurity.
To encourage diversity and inclusion for women in the field of cybersecurity, she founded
the Women in Cyber platform.
I have goosebumps, it’s so inspiring to learn about women who are changing the world
and tech is such a great industry for it!
So what problems are you going to solve with technology?
Leave a comment below!