On International Women’s Day, it’s important to celebrate the immeasurable contributions of women of all backgrounds, faiths, races and creeds to human society. However, it is also an opportunity for us to admit where there is still significant work to be done.
One such area where we still have a long road to climb towards reflective levels of representation in the security industry is in women in leadership positions.
According to research developed by Eskenzi PR, the security industry is still one which is dominated by men:
- Only 21% of leadership roles in cybersecurity are held by women
- Only 17% of board member positions are held by women
- A shocking one in TEN companies listed no female leadership on their websites at all
These statistics go a long way towards suggesting that the security industry is still lagging behind the standard. According to Zippia, women in the US hold 35% of leadership positions, meaning cybersecurity as an industry is 14% behind the standard for women in the US.
Not only is this an in appropriate disparity in terms of gender equality and equal rights, but this disparity could be costing cybersecurity companies in terms of revenue: The same article details how companies with female executives are 30% more likely to outperform other companies.
Further statistics developed by Eskenzi show that:
- The majority of women in senior roles were either in marketing, HR or ‘people’ roles – Still leaving a wide gap for more technical roles.
- The number of female CEO of founder positions rose from only 8 to 15.
This problem of women in technical roles speak to a wider issue around women in STEM: The totally false narrative still prevails that women are less adept at roles which involve STEM activities such as technical cybersecurity roles. This is an issue not only for our industry to work on and address, but our society too. These kinds of changes are changes of perception, and as such must be addressed at the earliest stage: In our homes, and in our educational institutions.
As grim reading as this is, we should also be aware of the positives: Women’s contributions to cybersecurity – once a closed ‘old boys network’ – are being recognized more than ever. Let there be no doubt however: The work continues.
