September 1st marks International Women in Cyber Day. While notable strides in progress have been made for women in the industry, there are still roadblocks that impede many career journeys. 

Isabel Castillo, Lead Information Security Engineer at Lastwall, states, “A study performed by the University of Illinois, NYU, and Princeton University showed that by age 6, girls are more likely to think boys can be ‘brilliant’ and are ‘really, really smart’ — a stereotype that continues to be fueled by media, compliments, and marketing. You don’t have to look further than animation geared toward children: the predominant message emphasizes girls’ looks and boys’ capabilities. What this means in terms of cybersecurity is that unless we change that message from a young age, we will continue to see a gender discrepancy in talent pipelines, during meetings, in leadership positions, and at the board level.”

Ruth Okofu, InfoSec Operations Engineer at Lastwall, comments, “In my career leading teams through tough security and compliance programs, I’ve seen how often women are underestimated or overlooked in cybersecurity. Early on, there were very few women in the room when critical risk decisions were made. That lack of visibility can hold us back, even when the expertise is there.” She adds, “But I’ve also seen the difference when women are trusted to lead. They deliver results and bring new perspectives that strengthen how teams approach problems. Progress is happening as more women step into leadership roles and mentor others, but we need to go further.”

How To Enact Change

Okofu recommends, “Organizations must take real action such as creating fair promotion paths, sponsoring women into decision-making roles, and ensuring their voices are visible at conferences, in research, and within leadership seats. Cybersecurity is about resilience. Resilience comes from diversity. Empowering women isn’t just inclusion — it’s a strategy for a stronger, more secure industry.”

Castillo remarks, “To see meaningful change, we must begin sending the message to girls that they are incredibly intelligent, smart and equally capable of performing complex tasks. And this must start early — the education system can benefit from highlighting women’s accomplishments in all fields and introducing kid-friendly engineering toys from a young age. Cybersecurity could be gamified in an inclusive way for both girls and boys, with compliments to girls reframed as, ‘You are incredibly talented; your intellect is growing with more practice.’ Animation can portray geeky, techy heroines who are celebrated for their determination, resilience, diligence and tech-savviness. I firmly believe that once the message for kids is broadened to include all possibilities — and we consistently give girls these types of encouraging affirmations — we will see more women rise to board positions.”