CS Nov-Dec 2020

gender inequality
The report suggests the primary reason
for the under-representation of women in
the cyber security industry is down to a lack
of interest in the subject from school age.
When considering ways to make change,
the report recommends that industry
leaders - including directors, CEOs and
accreditation bodies - could and should be
responsible for approaching schools help
educate and encourage students. Schools
could also promote initiatives such as
CyberFirst's online Girls Competition,
which aims to inspire the next generation
of young women to consider computer
science as an option, with a view to
a future career in cyber security.
Findings by CREST also point to issues
with current recruitment practices,
including the way job descriptions are
written, the language used and arguably
even candidate requirements. Female
representatives at the workshops agreed
that the inclusion of training options
on the job advert would encourage
more female applicants, as would flexible
working hours, good maternity policies
and back to work support.
Another key finding is the demand for
an industry-wide female mentoring and
coaching scheme to create a stronger,
closer female community, while enabling
women to grow and develop in their
careers.
MUCH MORE TO BE DONE
"It is encouraging that as an industry we
are making progress, but there is a lot
more to do and improving the visibility
of female role models will allow us to
challenge the perception of the cyber
security industry," says Ian Glover, president
of CREST. "Schools hold the key and we
need to help them to encourage more
girls into the industry. Furthermore, the
mentoring scheme would give a platform
on which role models can help to coach
and guide others, which in turn will help
to challenge the perception of gender as
it relates to the industry," adds Glover.
"The actions are well-thought through,
they are doable, but just need the support
of industry, education and recruiters."
FORTUNES TO BE MADE
Interestingly, increasing the number of
women working in cybersecurity could
boost the UK economy by £12.6 billion
according to a new report from Tessian,
the human layer security company. The
report also reveals that closing the 24%
gender pay gap in the UK cybersecurity
industry, and equalising women's salaries
to men's, could add a further £4.4 billion
to the UK economy, albeit such thoughts
must now be tempered by the on-going
ravages inflicted by the pandemic.
The firm carried out a survey of 200
female cybersecurity professionals in both
the US and UK, and interviewed more than
one dozen practitioners from some of the
world's largest organisations about their
personal experiences. The Tessian report
highlights what it sees as the potential
impact of expanding gender diversity in
cybersecurity, as well as current perceptions
around gender bias in the field.
Key findings:
82% of female cybersecurity
professionals in the US believed that
cybersecurity had a gender bias
problem, compared with 49% of
those in the UK
The cybersecurity gender pay gap in
the US was 17%; in the UK, 19%
US respondents were three times as
likely (68%) to believe that a more
gender-balanced workforce would be
an effective tool for recruiting more
women to work in cybersecurity
than UK respondents (22%)
45% of US respondents said equal
pay would help with recruitment,
compared with just 10% of UK
respondents
61% of US respondents cited lack of
qualified talent as a reason why 4m
cybersecurity jobs would be left
unfulfilled by 2021, while only 33% of
UK women cited lack of qualified talent
as a barrier. Once again, Covid-19 will
have had its impact on all these figures.
Factors discouraging women from joining
the cybersecurity industry:
42% of respondents (US. and UK)
believed a cybersecurity skills gap
existed, as the industry isn't considered
'cool' or 'exciting'. This opinion was
most commonly shared by millennials
(46%), compared with 22% of 45-54-
year-olds
A lack of awareness or knowledge of
the industry was the top challenge
female professionals faced at the start
of their career, with 43% citing this as
a barrier
43% of women said a lack of a clear
development path was another
challenge at the start of their
cybersecurity career, while nearly
a quarter (23%) cited a lack of role
models
Just 53% believed their organisations
were doing enough to recruit women
into security roles.
GREATER VISIBILITY
Sabrina Castiglione, senior executive at
Tessian, comments: "For organisations to
successfully recruit more women into
security roles, they need to understand
what's discouraging them from signing
up, beyond just gender bias. We need to
make women in cybersecurity more visible.
We need to tell their stories and raise
awareness of their roles and experiences.
And, once through the door, managers
need to clearly show women the
opportunities available to them to progress
and develop their careers."
Shamla Naidoo, former CISO at IBM, has
this to say: "To many people, cybersecurity
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