Matthew Bettis
23rd November 2021
The war for talent in cybersecurity is undeniable. The cybersecurity industry is projected to triple year-over-year, but the shortage of cybersecurity professionals is in the millions globally, according to an article in The CyberWire1.
With cyber security on the rise and the challenge of finding candidates with the right skill becoming more complex, considering gender inequality is just one other factor employers must now consider for a modern and dynamic workforce. Currently, two-thirds of the industry identifies as male, compared with 31% identifying as female, while over 84% of those surveyed identify as straight, compared with 10% identifying as LGBT (ZDnet, 2021).
Representation is vital in cybersecurity, both for teams to match the diversity of those carrying out cyber-attacks; as we are past the days of ‘generic’ and ‘traditional’ threat actors, the cyber-sphere is constantly changing. It is essential to match the change but also to embody the groups they are protecting and defending.
To protect these end-users and the organisations they represent, cybersecurity teams must reflect the wider workforce. Failure to build diverse groups can lead to a narrow-minded approach to threat detection, cause dangerous assumptions in end-user knowledge and facilitate poor decision making.
According to a projection by Cybersecurity Ventures, women will hold 25% of cybersecurity jobs globally by the end of 2021. That’s up from 20% in 2019, according to previously statistics produced. Meanwhile, only 12% of black professionals worked as information security analysts in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics.
Building diverse and inclusive cyber teams isn’t the only crucial factor to consider. Retaining them is just as critical and company culture is one of the main factors in achieving this. Compassion, empathy, and transparency are significant traits to adopt and essentials for an organisation wanting to attract and retain the best talent. Authentic organisations care about their people and recognise they need a work-life balance. After all, psychologically healthy and proactive people are the best asset for any organisation to thrive.
Diversity should not be a means of “making up the numbers” or “appearing inclusive”. It should be authentic. A lack of diversity means excellent talent is being overlooked. Therefore, cyber-security organisations need to promote diversity to foster a positive atmosphere and attract the best talent. In the longer term, encouraging more people from diverse backgrounds into the cyber industry will be a must if firms want to thrive in an increasingly challenging environment.
Ultimately diversity can enhance a security team by improving decision-making and creative problem-solving. By casting a wider net and broadening their search to less traditional environments, security leaders can conduct a more equitable and less biased job search. At Transition Partners, diversity and inclusion is part of our DNA. If you are a leader in cyberspace within the US and want to focus more on encouraging a diverse and equitable workforce, reach out to me, Matthew Bettis, Growth Account Manager; I will be more than happy to provide insight or assist with your search.