Here's some food for thought..
As the UK Chartered Management Institute states, '81% of women believe that having a role model helps raise aspirations, but 55% say there aren't enough roles models to choose from'. IT, in particular cyber security, is a sector that lacks female role models, and this needs to change to inspire more women (and young people).
As a new staff member of GPC, I am conscious of the male-dominated world of IT and cyber, and it is clear that more women and young people need to be encouraged to thrive and break through the boundaries into this sector. This is not about improving statistics or ratios, but being able to utilise their expertise as there is no real reason why only men are suitable for these roles!
In the context of the global skills shortage in cyber and IT, effectively ignoring half of the potential candidates will only exacerbate the challenge of staying resilient against the many threats we face.
At the University of Exeter, I was an ambassador for the 'Women in Business' Society, where we promoted, informed, and supported female students in their career aspirations, with focus on excelling in traditionally male-dominated environments. I would like to continue to raise awareness of the challenges for women in IT and cyber, and over the next few weeks, I will be bringing some insight from our networks and associates, such as Dame Stephanie Shirley who as a member of the UK House of Lords and highly successful IT entrepreneur, has considerable influence and is supporting our awareness campaign.
If you would like to know more, please contact me.
Email: Emy@gardpasscyber.com
Look out for my series of posts!
How Stephanie became Steve to break into a man's world:
https://www.gpc.work/post/1792/How-Stephanie-became-Steve-to-break-into-a-man-s-world/
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Website: https://www.gpc.work/
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