A report by DCMS showed that the UK’s cybersecurity industry is worth £8.3 billion (€9.86 billion) but why do we still see a lack of female representatives in the industry? Women represent about 20% of people working in cybersecurity, says Gartner.
The industry remains male-dominated, and this lack of diversity means they have less available talent to help keep up with the rise in cyber threats. Andrea Babbs, head of sales UK & Ireland at VIPRE Security, outlines how attracting more females, and providing equal opportunities within the workplace, is significant for the future of cybersecurity.
Male dominated subjects
At the beginning of a ‘tech’ based career, a woman’s success is limited. Females make up only 28% of the workforce in science, technology, engineering and math subjects (STEM), and are systematically tracked away from these subjects throughout their learning, and pushed towards written and creative arts. There is also a need for more female STEM teachers, as young girls may feel that they cannot be what they can’t see.
The industry also requires two years of experience for many entry level positions. But how do you get that experience without being offered an opportunity to gain the necessary skills? This requirement leads to talented, tech-savvy women entering non-tech sectors, even if they have trained in that subject.
Additionally, females who have been successful in entering the industry receive different treatment compared to males who work in technology, and can be mistaken for having a less ‘dominant’ role. VIPRE colleague, Angela, who has been a support engineer at VIPRE for over ten years is still asked to put people through to an engineer on the phone as it is perceived that as a woman, she can’t be one herself. This can discourage young women from entering the field and diminish the self esteem of those already in it.
Existing challenges
From engineers to technologists, the roles are unlimited in cybersecurity. It is clear for women entering the industry that the profession is not limited to one type of job, and requires a range of skill sets. However, research demonstrates that 66% of women reported that there is no path of progression for them in their career, suggesting why women tend to end up in roles such as marketing or sales.
Maternity leave or taking a break to raise a family is another challenge women face in their career. A recent study shows that three in five professional women return to lower paid jobs following their career breaks. Additionally, the challenges faced by women returning to the workplace costs the UK an estimated £1.7 billion (€2.02 billion) a year in lost economic output.
“It’s almost considered career suicide to leave,” says the former senior director of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, Claudia Galvan. These women find it “almost impossible to go back to work, or if they do go back to work, they have to take totally different jobs from what their career was, a demotion, of course pay cuts and that’s if they get the opportunity to get back into the workforce.”
Everyone is the target. so why not get everyone involved?
To ensure that women gain equal footing in stereotypically male-dominated industries, there is an often-overlooked factor men need equality too. Businesses need to offer the same level of paternity leave and support to men as they do women when it comes to looking after a family as it needs to be understood that men have children too, and women are not always the number one caregiver.
For example, my husband received more questions about taking time off if our child was unwell than I did. The debate here is not just that there needs to be more women in cybersecurity, but that workforces must have diversity within them.
A diverse workforce allows there to be a balance of input, more creativity, new perspectives and fresh ideas. From different learning paths, to ways of approaching problems, and bringing in wider viewpoints, women bring an array of different skills, attributes and experience to cybersecurity roles.
Working in an industry like cybersecurity where everyone is impacted and everyone is a target we need everyone to be involved in developing solutions which solve the problem. This is not just limited to gender, but includes age, culture, race and religion. To truly mitigate the risk of cybercrime, we need a solution relevant to all the people impacted by the problem.
Taking action
To begin with, whether this is from a younger age during school studies or university courses, offering varied entry pathways into the industry, or making it easier to return after a break, women must be encouraged into the field of cybersecurity. These hurdles have to be addressed.
A “return to work scheme” would greatly benefit women if companies were to implement them. This can help those who have had a break from the industry get back into work and this doesn’t necessarily mean limiting them to roles such as customer support, sales and marketing. HR teams must do better when it comes to job descriptions, ensuring they appeal to a wider audience, offer flexibility and that the recruitment pool is as diverse as can be.
Cybersecurity remains an attractive and lucrative career path, but more should be done to direct female students in the right way to pursue a job role within STEM and support those returning to work. There is a need for more diverse teams, as cybersecurity threats become more varied. Becoming part of a gender-balanced cyber workforce is an efficient way to avoid unconscious bias and build a range of solutions to complex problems.
The only way to progress is more investment and emphasis on STEM as a career path. This will encourage both males and females, who are treated equally and can see themselves reflected in their senior management teams.
The author is Andrea Babbs, head of sales UK & Ireland at VIPRE Security.
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