I’m passionate about supporting women in technology for three reasons. Firstly, I believe no woman should be penalized because of her gender. Sadly, right now, this is occurring and it has to stop. Secondly, I believe the world – humankind – is missing out. As women make up about half of the workforce in the world, the tech industry has failed to harness a massive amount of the prospective talent pool. Women are fundamentally different to men. They think and behave differently to men, and as a result, more problems are going unsolved, production costs are being wasted, and innovation is being slowed because we don’t have enough women in technology.
Thirdly, I believe technology offers a gateway to a multitude of opportunities for women. It’s an incredibly creative, dynamic profession, and as it offers lucrative salaries, it can enable greater freedoms. This is important as when women are economically and politically empowered countries are more stable.
I’m incredibly passionate about helping in cybersecurity as one thing is certain… if you’re short on women you’re less safe. Women matter in cybersecurity because of the way they view and deal with risk. Typically, women are more risk averse, compliant with rules, and embracing of organisational controls and technology than men. They’re also extremely intuitive and score highly when it comes to emotional and social intelligence, which enables them to remain calm during times of turbulence – a trait that’s required when major cybersecurity breaches and incidents occur. As cybercrime, terrorism and warfare is increasing, and the number of women in cybersecurity is declining, I believe now is the time to take action and to fully support women.
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