Information Technology, Security, Cyber specialist, the list goes on. But the one thing these all have in common is that they come with the same generalised tag of being a male associated job title.
When it comes to Cybersecurity did you know that women only make up 20% of this workforce? Cybersecurity is becoming one of the fast growing markets and by 2021 the number of jobs opening up will be in the millions (according to Cybersecurity ventures). This is the best time for women to leverage this opportunity. There is already a lack of cybersecurity professionals across the world let alone Canada, so the question I ask is, why not?
October 2019 was the month for women in Cybersecurity. This allowed the world to focus on the talent available within this niche. It is always a pleasure and amazing to meet women of different calibres and experiences within this work space. I mean as you can imagine I and my team thrive on finding new talent within this space all the time.
According to many women today, this chosen career path has too many glass ceilings. Often this profession is considered to be too masculine.
Forbes recently released an article on this very issue. They interviewed a number if empowered women within the tech space who all agreed that this way of thinking (tech jobs are too masculine) has been embedded in us from a very young age and often then not in a tech team of 10 there are only 1 or 2 women. (Laurence Bradford: contributor – Forbes – Cybersecurity Needs Women: Here’s Why)
You see gender diversity has always been an issue and it’s not a hidden subject but now more than ever business’s are in the position to address these facts and crack down on them. Let’s face it women in the work place are great for business. Priscilla Moriuchi, Director of Strategic Threat Development at Recorded Future. “Rather, it’s that having more women in the workplace is good for business. Diversity in perspectives, leadership, and experience is good for business.”
When asked in a recent interview at the CISO forum Canada, Niagra Falls. “What’s it like being a women in cybersecurity” Adriana Gliga-Belavic Partner, PCI Practice Lead, PCI QSA, PwC Canada answered with “It was very lonely”
Women love to be challenged and Cybersecurity gives them a platform to be challenged and go above and beyond to fix and protect. Afterall it comes second nature to them so it only seems obvious that this line of work is something they would excel in.
siberX believes in this empowerment and encourages the movement of more women stepping into the world of Cybersecurity. We have taken on the opportunity to give women exactly that, we will be hosting our next event on March 10 2020 – Canadian Women in Cybersecurity, Toronto, On.
We would love to see you all there. Stay tuned for more on upcoming events and hot topics.
Mahdi Raza, CEO & Founder – SiberX
