The way Janell Straach sees it, the cybersecurity profession has an image problem, and it’s keeping women out of the field at a time when the industry needs all the workers it can get.
Straach says female students, when asked to describe cybersecurity work, continue to think of a guy in a hoodie alone at a keyboard. They see disproportionately few women on the job, particularly in the senior ranks. And some still get harassed at conferences, despite codes of conduct meant to discourage inappropriate behavior.
Granted, the first image isn’t accurate and hostile experiences aren’t the norm, Straach says. Yet both perceptions persist.
And the sense of too few women in the field? That, Straach says, is actually true.
To read this article in full, please click here
