Erasing the gender gap in cybersecurity
3 min read
While there’s a growing demand for cybersecurity experts, women fill only around a quarter of positions in the industry. The situation has improved in the last few years, but gender equality is still a major challenge for the tech world. What can be done to fix this?
Gender gaps in the cybersecurity industry
Malware, ransomware, and all kinds of online scams taught organizations to take security and privacy seriously. However, estimates say that there are 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs globally, and the industry is still growing.
The tech world is dominated by men, and cybersecurity is no exception. It’s not just that fewer women work in cybersecurity; they are also paid less than men, and take up fewer management positions. The archetypal hacker image always represents a guy with a hoodie, suggesting how deeply gender stereotypes are embedded in the industry.
Research has revealed that in diverse teams, performance improves by 12%, and intent to stay in the company by 20%. However, we’re still far away from equal representation of women in cybersecurity and the tech field in general.
Empowering women to choose cybersecurity
For this reason, in 2012, WiCyS was established — a non-profit organization specializing in attracting women to cybersecurity, sharing knowledge, and raising awareness. It offers training programs, mentorship, career fairs, job boards, and various resources for women in cybersecurity.
On 8-10 September, in Denver, Colorado, the eight annual WiCyS conference will be held. The event will be full of panel discussions, workshops, coaching sessions, and keynote speakers, covering topics from competencies required for a job to IoT security.
The WiCyS conference promotes equality of opportunity, encourages women to take a career in cybersecurity, and break gender stereotypes.
How NordVPN supports gender equality
NordVPN is one of the sponsors of WiCyS conference and has always been a firm supporter of gender equality. Our team believes that diversity brings the best results, so we encourage women to study computer sciences and reach for top positions in cybersecurity.
NordVPN believes that events like WiCyS attract new talents and empower future industry experts. The more talented people we have working in cybersecurity, the safer the internet will be.
On top of our work with WiCyS, NordVPN has also started partnerships with organizations like Women4Cyber and WISP. These non-profits work to empower girls and women in cybersecurity and build a fairer internet. Together we’re fighting to erase the gender gap and encourage women to take the tech world by storm.