Women in Cyber Security Speech

Introduction

Ladies and gentlemen, cybersecurity is one of the fields that has been dominated by men over the years, efforts are being made to sensitize the women to consider pursuing cyber security career to bring equality to the industry. The world continues to face a deficit of cyber security experts in the world; the shortage can be attributed to the fact that the career is not old enough and known by many people that could have considered to pursue cyber security careers. The cyber security career has come up as a result of increased use of the internet and technology in the world.

Women in Cyber Security

The few numbers of cyber security professionals in the world are mainly based in the United States and Asia, where there is high use of the internet (Gil Press, 2019). There are an estimated three hundred thousand jobs of cyber security that lacks the professions to fill the vacant positions. The few numbers of cyber security professionals in the world 98 percent are men. The limited number of cyber security professionals in the world can be attributed to the few universities in the world that offer the course. Cyber-attacks have been increasing over the recent past, where companies and organizations lose many and data that affect their operations.

Ladies and gentle, when more women get involved in cyber security matters of cyber security, the industry is likely to change because they will inspire their fellow women that they can also pursue the career. The few women that have pursued cyber-crime should also encourage their fellow women to consider pursuing careers. Women need to be ambitious enough to have a drive that will enable them to keep on working hard until they become cyber-crime professionals. Some women believe certain courses are for men; hence, they cannot pursue them. When such women see other women succeeding in the same profession, they can be encouraged to consider pursuing a cyber-crime career.

Women encounter challenges that limit their chances of pursuing their careers, for instance, companies might be reluctant to hire female cyber security personnel because the hiring officer does not believe that the woman has the required skills (Bradford, 2018). Ladies and gentlemen, to stop the stereotypes, women must be ready to fight for their space in the industry. The barriers exist because there are not enough women who have set an example that women, too, can be competent enough to complete their tasks as required. The lack of confidence in women has created a perception that women will not deliver the expected results once they get hired.

The number of women in a senior management position in cyber security in companies is very few; almost all the positions are filled with men because the organizations don't get women applicants to fill the positions (Alexander, 2019). The career in cyber-crime requires commitment and hard work for one to be updated with the latest trends of cyber threats. Technology keeps on changing; hence, one needs to be updated with the latest trends. Organizations also need to be fair on their demands by offering equal opportunities to women like they trust and offer men opportunities. Organizations can also offer scholarships to women to study cyber-crime, then they hire them once they complete their education.

The number of women in a senior management position in cyber security in companies is very few; almost all the positions are filled with men because the organizations don't get women applicants to fill the positions (Alexander, 2019). The career in cyber-crime requires commitment and hard work for one to be updated with the latest trends of cyber threats. Technology keeps on changing; hence, one needs to be updated with the latest trends. Organizations also need to be fair on their demands by offering equal opportunities to women like they trust and offer men opportunities. Organizations can also offer scholarships to women to study cyber-crime, then they hire them once they complete their education.

Various universities around the world offer courses in cybercrime, research has shown that when universities offer scholarships to students, more students show interests by applying for the scholarship (Oluoch, 2019). Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to encourage the men in the industry to begin mentoring women who wish to join the profession and encourage them that they can still achieve their goals and join the cyber security careers successfully. Women will play a critical role in reducing cyber threats that continue to threaten the increased use of technology. The women will also be able to help in educating their fellow women on how to use the internet safely and help in reducing the risks. Women are more vulnerable to attacks while using the internet.

Efforts are being made to boost the confidence in women for them to choose careers in technology, the efforts include introducing technology in early years of education where the children begin to interact with the technology from a young age (Alexander, 2019). Young ladies will start to love technologies so that later in their education, they can consider pursuing careers in technology. Introducing technology in the curriculum of children will also help in creating awareness and exposing the children to environments where children begin to think on innovations that they can make to improve the existing technology. By the time children start thinking about careers to pursue at the university level.

Many organizations have advertised for cyber security vacancies, but they have failed to get the right cyber security professionals because of the shortage of qualified personal (Oluoch, 2019). In such circumstances, companies can be encouraged to sponsor women who have interests in pursuing cyber security so that they can hire them later when they complete their studies. There is fear that has been in the industry; hence, women get scared of failure; thus, they prefer to avoid pursuing careers in cyber security. The myths in the education system regarding careers in technology should be dealt with to eliminate the myths that discourage students from pursuing careers in technology.

Ladies and gentlemen, the techniques that can be used in increasing the competitiveness include networking and forming group's and clubs that encourage and find opportunities that the women can use to develop themselves (Jordan, 2017). Forming groups makes it easy for universities that would like to offer opportunities to students. Forming cyber-crime clubs can provide women and girls in schools a chance to carry research and identify the roles that they can play in improving cyber security in their communities. The more women get involved in cyber-crime the more the world becomes safer because there will be no vulnerable group in the society.

States and companies can develop policies where a third of the technologies employees comprise of women to give the women more opportunities (Xie, 2019). Giving women opportunities will encourage them to pursue careers that they feared because they have a support system that they can rely on when there is competition over limited opportunities. The companies and agencies will begin to appreciate the role of women in the technology department. Once a few women make it in the industry, they will inspire others to become cyber-crime experts.

The majority of the cyber criminals that have been identified to carry out attacks are men; hence, they inspire their fellow women to come up with measures to prevent the cyber-attacks (Deidre, 2018). Where are cybercrime experts whose aim is to help organizations be safe by identifying loopholes that can be used to carry out cyber-attacks against the company? The white hat hackers the ethical hackers that keep organizations safe by improving the security of the organizations. Women should be encouraged that they can also play an important role in maintaining security to organizations and the world in general.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the gap of lack of enough cybercrime professionals in the world will continue to grow as the world gets more digitized. Women will play a significant role in the cyber security profession where they supplement their male counterparts in securing the technology and internet world. The universities and organizations have a role to play in encouraging women to join the industry and fill the gender gap. The women need to be encouraged that they too can play a role in the cybercrime industry.

References

Alexander, R. (2019). Cybersecurity Jobs Report 2018-2021. Retrieved 13 October 2019, from https://cybersecurityventures.com/jobs/

Bradford, L. (2018). Cybersecurity Needs Women: Here's Why. Retrieved 13 October 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurencebradford/2018/10/18/cybersecurity-needs-women-heres-why/#4eeb170047e8

Deidre, D. (2018). Why we need more women in cybersecurity. Retrieved 13 October 2019, from https://techbeacon.com/security/why-we-need-more-women-cybersecurity

Gil Press. (2019). Cybersecurity Predictions For 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/gilpress/2018/12/03/60-cybersecurity-predictions-for-2019/#3e0504ba4352

Jordan, A. (2017). What cybersecurity professionals can learn from triathletes. Retrieved 13 October 2019, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/what-cybersecurity-professionals-can-learn-from-triathletes/

Morgan, S. (2018). Women Represent 20 Percent Of The Global Cybersecurity Workforce In 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019, from https://cybersecurityventures.com/women-in-cybersecurity/

Oluoch, V. (2019). Shortage of skilled cybersecurity experts exposes the ICT sector too. Retrieved 13 October 2019, from https://www.nation.co.ke/newsplex/cybercrime/2718262-5131680-3qu6k6z/index.html

Osborne, C. (2018). Women in Cybersecurity Often Worth More Than They Realize - ISACA Now. Retrieved 13 October 2019, from https://www.isaca.org/Knowledge-Center/Blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=1148

Poppy, J. (2019). There's a shortage of women in cyber security, and that's a problem. Retrieved 13 October 2019, from https://www.bulletproof.co.uk/blog/shortage-of-women-in-cyber-security

Women in Cyber Security: 6 Reasons to Enter the Field. (2019). Retrieved 13 October 2019, from https://onlinedegrees.sandiego.edu/women-cyber-security-reasons-to-enter-field/

Women In Cybersecurity Associations And Groups To Follow. (2019). Retrieved 13 October 2019, from https://cybersecurityventures.com/list-of-women-in-cybersecurity-associations-in-the-u-s-and-internationally/

Xie, K. (2019). Here's how we can tackle the growing cybersecurity skills gap. Retrieved 13 October 2019, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/addressing-the-growing-cybersecurity-skills-gap/