Empowering Women in Cyber - Tech Talent Canada

Today, September 1st, is International Women in Cyber Day.

Cyber roles are some of the most in-demand tech positions in Canada. Over 3,000 Canadian jobs are currently available in cyber security, but despite the growth in this sector, women remain underrepresented.

In a recent Deloitte report, 73% of Canadian companies reported increasing their cyber talent opportunities, but globally, less than one in four workers in cyber fields identify as women.

International Women in Cyber Day is a day to celebrate and highlight the achievements of women in IT and cyber security. It’s also an opportunity to draw attention to how we can narrow the cyber skills gap by empowering more women in the industry.

Closing The Great Canadian Cyber Skills Gap

Closing the gap starts with education. Industry and education should be working together to change the landscape of what cyber security departments look like today.

Bootcamps are an excellent solution for anyone looking to reskill, especially women who traditionally bear the brunt of working full-time outside of the home and in the home. We now see opportunities to get digital skills training in a shorter amount of time, making this type of education more accessible than ever before. Remote cyber skills bootcamps like those at Lighthouse Labs allow even further flexibility, as people in rural areas can access them.

The other side of this coin, industry, also needs to shift when developing their hiring strategy. Companies looking to address the gender gap in their IT departments should broaden their DEI initiatives and job descriptions. We’ve already seen huge improvements here, with more robust HR departments and a concerted effort towards DEI initiatives across the board.

Despite the best efforts of these companies, job descriptions can be a huge deterrent for many women. Hiring managers often treat job descriptions as a wish list. When applying for roles, men typically apply for positions if they satisfy only 60% of the qualifications, whereas women are more likely to apply only if they meet 100%. It’s not for lack of confidence in their skills – it’s to avoid wasting the recruiters’ (and their own) time. Ultimately, this limits the candidate pool and increases the ratio of men to women in men’s favour.

To combat this imbalance, job descriptions need to be much more flexible. Descriptions should highlight transferable skills and use less male-centric terminology to increase the number of women who apply.

Industry & Education: Partners in Cyber Security Recruitment

The best strategy to increase representation in the cyber industry is retention and career development. Educators and industry partners should work collaboratively to ensure this happens. Programs such as mentorships and internships can help students transition into the workforce, and there should be more of these opportunities dedicated to women. Progression plans also need to be put in place to move these same people up in their careers. We can bring women into our programs, but without a clear career development path, they will leave.

International Women in Cyber Day is a perfect opportunity for employers to assess their organization’s hiring and career development strategies. Now is the time to ensure that an organization’s hiring strategy encompasses all available pipelines. Are there tactics in place to develop internal talent? Can women visualize a career in cyber within the organization?

Cyber hygiene and cyber principles should be taught at a young age. The sooner we can attract young women into STEM careers, the better. Cyber hygiene and terminology can be taught as early as kindergarten. All schools should have a cyber program, and if they don’t, the question of why should be asked. If girls don’t know that cyber security is a career option, how can they ever consider it as one?

Ultimately, we need to change the narrative around cyber careers. These careers help people, keep people safe, and keep our information safe. All too often, when thinking of cyber workers, we picture someone sitting in a dark basement hacking into a database. What we don’t see are the people on the other side of the screen – the cyber analysts and security professionals who save the day. By changing how our culture views cyber careers, we can empower more women to enter the field.

Cyber Careers for All

There is still a large gap in roles that need to be filled by people who identify as women in the tech industry – and even fewer women are in cyber. But with organizations, mentors, and internships dedicated to supporting women entering into cyber careers, we hope to see this narrative change quickly.

Cyber careers are for everyone, and more and more people are starting to understand that.

Ashley Mataya is the Senior Manager of Cyber Partnerships at Lighthouse Labs.