The cybersecurity industry is still facing a serious numbers problem as too many jobs go unfilled. A recent ESG study found that more than half of companies surveyed (53 percent) reported a significant shortage of cybersecurity skills within their organizations, and 63 percent of organizations aren’t able to provide adequate training for their cybersecurity professionals.
While these numbers are alarming, one has to wonder: What if many of the industry’s most troubling issues could be improved with more women in cybersecurity?
There’s certainly room. In the U.S., women make up only about 20 percent of the cybersecurity workforce. In Canada, the numbers are even worse, with women representing approximately 10 percent of the workforce.
I entered the cybersecurity world 20 years ago, and since then the numbers haven’t improved. What is preventing more women from entering the field? Surely there must be steps that can be taken to improve the numbers and, by doing so, improve cybersecurity in general.
Raising Awareness to Bridge the Skills Gap
Lisa Kearney, founder of the Women Cybersecurity Society, has been in the industry for 24 years, and in that time she has only worked with “a handful” of other women. Last year, Kearney founded the nonprofit to help women and girls interested in the cybersecurity field find good careers and support them so they can remain in the field.
“The impetus for st ..
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