The glass ceiling that separates women from career advancement in cybersecurity is tougher to crack for minorities. At a time when many businesses have committed to diversity and inclusion efforts, it's imperative they know which actions will drive substantial and sorely needed change.
More than half (53%) of women in a new study from Synack said a "glass ceiling" prevents them from achieving certain roles at their organizations. For minority women, that number was 71%.
Professional barriers are real – and high: Twenty-five percent of respondents said their company has one or no woman in an executive role, and 53% estimate their company has one or no minority executives. Nearly all (91%) women said they don't have the same opportunities as their male counterparts, and only 25% said there is sufficient representation of women in security.
More than half (54%) of minority respondents said they experienced either a great deal or a moderate amount of bias based on their ethnicity or background. When asked whether they're given the same chances as other ethnicities to progress in the company, only 47% of minorities said yes.
"At a base level, it is hard to navigate an industry where you are often 'othered' in some way – othered as a woman, othered as a person of color, or even worse, at the intersection," says Camille Stewart, head of security policy at Google Play and Android.
Being a woman, and being a person of color, "is a very underserved, underdiscussed part of the diverse experience," she says.
The glass ceiling separating women of color from advancement can manifest in a number of ways, Stewart says. It co ..
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