The IT Workforce Women in Cybersecurity: A Study of Career Advancement

Although cybersecurity is a critical IT area, women continue to be underrepresented among its ranks. This first study of female cybersecurity professionals examines the required skills, the existing challenges, and the key success factors for women in the field. T he US Department of Homeland Securi-ty’s national strategy to secure cyberspace identifies cybersecurity awareness and training as one of five national security priorities. Indeed, one of the strategy’s missions is to address the shortfall in trained and certified cybersecurity personnel (www.dhs.gov/interweb/ assetlibrary/National_Cyberspace_Strategy.pdf). However, according to a 2006 IDC survey (www. isc2.org/uploadedFiles/Industry_Resources/wfs_ gov.pdf), only 13 percent of US cybersecurity professionals are women—and this percentage is higher than in Europe and Asia. The US Nation