I t’s a truly fascinating time to be working in the cybersecurity industry. Unless you’ve lived in a cave for the past few years, you’ve probably already lost count of all the major data breaches in the news. The growing security threats are a reality for companies of all types and sizes, from corporation giants and hospitals to your next-door local grocery store.

With each breach averaging a total cost of $3.92 million dollars and often carrying even larger implicit costs related to reputation damages, the stakes for companies are high. Cybercrime damage costs arepredicted to hit $6 trillion annually by 2021, doubling up from $3 trillion in 2015.

It’s not exactly rocket science to see why cybersecurity is an in-demand field.

At the same time, the cybersecurity industry is facing a growing talent gap, with an expected shortage of 3.5 million unfilled jobs globally by 2021.

Why could a lucrative industry, with a national average salary of over $112,000 annually still face such severe talent shortages?

It’s time to address the elephant in the room.

Women comprise 50% of the world population, yet statistically, we remain underrepresented in the cybersecurity field, holding only 20% of the cybersecurity jobs worldwide.

Graphic: Eva Benn

Thankfully, more and more companies are taking steps in the right direction, heavily investing in diversity, equality, and inclusion. But despite the strong emphasis on diversity, many women still tend to shy away from pursuing careers in the cybersecurity field simply because we feel intimated from the seemingly high barriers to entry or the long history of conscious or unconscious gender bias in the field.

It’s time to break the cybersecurity stereotypes. The future of cybersecurity is female. And the future is now.

#cybersecurity #gender-equality #diversity #career-advice #women-in-tech