How you can help more women study cyber security

Given the shortage of qualified cyber security professionals all over the world – with the predicted gap of the cyber security workforce hitting 4.07 million – it is critically important to increase the number of female cyber security graduates. By attracting and supporting underrepresented demographic groups, including women, the cyber security industry will fill the workforce gap.Consistent with a global issue of the underrepresentation of female students in STEM fields, the number of female students on cyber security degree programmes is low: in 2016-2017, only 13.1% and 16% of students studying on a cyber security degree or a degree with a cyber security module were female. As a result, in 2019 female professionals made up only one in 10 of the cyber security workforce in the UK, according to the Chartered Institute of Information Security report, “The Security Profession in 2019/20”. And due to the low engagement of women, the cyber security industry is losing access to a significant percentage of available talent while creating a gender imbalanced workforce.At every stage of the talent pipeline, cyber security workforce loses talented women – and the metaphor of a leaky pipeline is very appropriate: girls do not develop an interest in cyber security at the primary and secondary school levels. Consequently, they do not consider a higher education degree in cyber security as an option. Nature v nurtureIs the lack of engagement due to the lower ability of girls to cope with a STEM subject? Neuroscience research shows that there are no fundamental differences in the cognitive ability of men and women when it comes to STEM subjects, and female and male students perform equally well in computer science courses at university. This means there are other underlying reasons for the gender imbalance in cyber security education. The reasons for the lack of interest and low engagement of girls in cybersecurity, similarly with other STEM subjects, include the following:The differences in perceived self-efficacy between boys and girls The difference in the confidence level, with research studies showing that girls have less confidence and more anxiety regarding STEM subjectsCultural beliefs on female students’ performance in STEM subjectsThe perception of IT as “a boys club” and stereotypes of programming being a field for "geeks" and "hooded gamers"Lack of awareness about cyber security as a subject and a possible career path at the period of transition from school to higher education On the positive side, the industry recognises that there is an issue and governments across the world, academia and the industry have launched many initiatives to close the gap. One amazing initiative, run by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), focused on the early stages of the talent pipeline and the younger female audience and was called the CyberFirst Girls Competition. While Cardiff University regularly runs a wide range of outreach events and activities for female students in secondary education, including the recent She Inspires campaign organised in collaboration with Technocamps.Outside all the existing initiatives, there are a lot of other things that can be done to spark the interest in cybersecurity among girls and to encourage them to consider a degree and a career in cyber security. Here are three examples:Demonstrate the diversity of roles available in cyber security, including technical and non-technical roles, and opportunities to move into cyber security with a background in different disciplines. There are many examples of students with a background in STEM, but not computer science, and in non-STEM subjects, who choose to study on a batchelor’s or master’s degree in cyber security and demonstrate excellent performance Increase the visibility of female role models in the tech sector and cyber security. Girls often don’t perceive the tech sector as appealing because they feel there aren’t many role models that they can relate to Raise awareness about cyber security among schoolteachers. Schoolteachers often know very little about cyber security, and are not able to inform or inspire their students about cyber security as a promising profession in high demand. And there are also things that you, as a cyber security professional, could be doing to help raise awareness about the profession and to spark and to support an interest among female students For example, you could offer to give a talk about cyber security at a local school or college, or organise a cyber security game or workshop. Research shows that educational collaborative activities in girl-only groups supported by motivating mentors lead to greater interest in cyber security among girls. Why not volunteer to support initiatives and events that aim to encourage girls into cyber security education? In your message to young people, highlight a range of different career paths in cyber security and that the field is open for people with different competencies and backgrounds. And finally, talk about inspiring female role models.Article written by: Dr Yulia Cherdantseva

Your cyber intelligence source

How you can help more women study cyber security

Related content

Palo Alto Networks Dismiss Number of Vulnerable Firewalls

Government Security Group Seeking New Members and Expertise

Microsoft Takes Down Phishing-as-a-Service Domains

Research: Half of Working Week Commonly Lost to Manual Tasks

Five Named and Charged in SMS Phishing Effort

Businesses Commonly Attacked Outside of Working Hours

Industrial Cybersecurity Under Attack in 2024

Upcoming Events

How you can help more women study cyber security

Related content

Palo Alto Networks Dismiss Number of Vulnerable Firewalls

Government Security Group Seeking New Members and Expertise

Microsoft Takes Down Phishing-as-a-Service Domains

Research: Half of Working Week Commonly Lost to Manual Tasks

Five Named and Charged in SMS Phishing Effort

Businesses Commonly Attacked Outside of Working Hours

Industrial Cybersecurity Under Attack in 2024

Upcoming Events

Confirm cancellation

Sign up benefits