The IT Security Guru’s Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards aims to shed a light on the remarkable women in our industry. The following is a feature on just one of the many phenomenal women put forward for the 2021 awards. Presented in a Q&A format, the nominee’s answers are written in their own words with minor edits made by the editor for readability.

This year, the awards are sponsored by KPMG and Beazley.

Pat Ryan, Sole Director and Founder of Cyber Girls First

What does your job role entail?

Managing the universities, companies and schools to set up the events, and finding the right presenters to encourage girls to look at computer science for many careers.

How did you get into the cybersecurity industry?

I didn’t do cyber security. I was an economist and a management consultant.  I managed people who worked on cyber security.

What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced as a woman in the tech/cyber industry and how did you overcome it?

Convincing people that I was a woman, not a man.  People automatically assumed I was Patrick, not Patricia. They were often reluctant to accept me. After my Master’s Degree, an interviewer asked me if I could make the tea. I walked out.

What are your top three greatest accomplishments you have achieved during your career so far?

Bringing up two successful children, while setting up a charity in 1996 to put IT equipment into hospitals where children were being treated. We completed all 249 hospitals in the UK by 2012.

From 2012-14, I was ..

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