New Women in Cybersecurity Report Highlights Voices from the Field

Alexandra Ross - Senior Global Privacy and Security Counsel, Autodesk and Founder, The Privacy Guru

The new 2017 report, “Women in Cybersecurity: A Progressive Movement” is a must-read for those invested in the future of diversity in the security and privacy sector. Spearheaded by Caroline Wong, CISSP, and Vice President of Security Strategy for Cobalt, the report summarizes findings from over 300 women actively engaged in a cybersecurity career.

Many of the report’s findings challenge common misconceptions about women in cybersecurity. Some surprising findings from the report include:

• 36% of those surveyed have been working in cybersecurity for 10 or more years, suggesting women in cybersecurity is hardly a new phenomenon.
• Fewer than 50% of respondents entered cybersecurity through a background in IT or computer science, meaning women without IT or Computer Science backgrounds should not cross a career in the industry off their list.

While never losing sight of the major diversity challenges within cybersecurity, the report also provides some encouragement looking forward. Among the key takeaways: it’s clear that women in cybersecurity are thriving, the best teams in the business are diverse, and that the talent shortage might be best addressed through a combination of broadening the hiring process while reinforcing the education pipeline.

In addition to the numbers, the survey provides direct quotes from women in a variety of cybersecurity positions, as well as an inspiring sample of free-form insights and advice from women in their own voices.

Kudos Caroline Wong and all of the women who stepped up to contribute to this timely, necessary survey.

For more information on resources for women in security and privacy, check out the WISP Resources page and be sure to connect with WISP.