Women cyber leaders are on the rise, and paying it forward

Carol Lee Hobson, CISO, PayNearMe

PayNearMeStill, companies could be doing more to bring women into cybersecurity positions, says Lauren Winchester, vice president of cyber risk services at Travelers.”Women make up more than half of the population yet represent roughly 20% of the cybersecurity workforce. While the number of women in cyber has increased over the past decade, companies can and should work to continue closing the gender gap in hiring and leadership roles,” Winchester says.Women in the cyber industry need to be recognized, rewarded, and promoted, she says. “Like any industry, you want to be somewhere that provides an opportunity to learn, gain experience, and grow.” Gender parity issues also persist, including in salaries. Another recent ISC2 report finds a “substantial average discrepancy in salaries between women and men.” The ISC2 data shows when median US salaries are compared by gender, there is a $10,000 difference between men ($150,000) and women ($140,000) study participants.”This difference grows to $14,000 when we compare average (mean) salaries, with men who responded earning an average of $159,369 compared to women who earn an average of $144,689,” the report said. With seniority, the pay gap decreases as the job level increases.While organizations on average are moving closer to achieving equal pay among senior-level executives, “inequality is still prevalent across the board,” the report said.But others findings are promising. “Once women enter the field, they are finding ways to advance,” the ISC2 Research team said. “The real challenge is ensuring more women join and thrive at every level.”

Incremental progress being made: There are also mixed feelings about how women in the industry are viewed, and the level of support they receive.”When I first started in this field, being the only woman in the room was just a normal Tuesday,” notes Alicja Cade, director of the Office of the CISO, at Google Cloud. “And while things have improved so much, I still get the occasional déjà vu moment at a networking event in some oak-paneled steakhouse and think, ‘Okay, we’re not quite there yet!’”

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