Deloitte's Global Women in Cyber ​​campaign encourages diversity in the workforce

Deloitte's Global Women in Cyber ​​campaign encourages diversity in the workforce

International consulting firm Deloitte is launching a global campaign to encourage firms to hire and promote women in cyber security roles.

The company's first global campaign in the cyber program was announced earlier this month and is being supported by local Deloitte branches around the world. It officially launched in Canada on June 1st, said Beth DeWitt, a partner and board member of Deloitte Canada and global campaign leader.

Initially, it consists of 14 videos of women working in cybersecurity-related positions at Deloitte around the world. Over time this will also include articles, blogs and podcasts featuring interviews with Canadian women and their careers and learning opportunities. There will also be seminars and webinars featuring Deloitte and its clients talking about various cyber security topics such as how they solve cyber challenges.

In an interview, DeWitt said the campaign is partly to encourage employers to hire more women to address the talent shortage in cybersecurity, and partly to encourage them to hire such people. To tell about the importance of having someone who may have a different point of view, a different way of solving problems.

"Representation [in an organization] is really important," she explained. “It comes down to representation in order to change the system of power or to recruit more people into an industry or to get more voices at the table.” People need to be seen and believed that their voices matter and that their Like people exist. People need role models, people need others to look up to, they have paths to follow.

"This campaign is unique because it takes our own models and professionals and says, 'Come join us. We need more like us and more like you.' This means being in Deloitte, and in the cyber security profession as a whole.

"For me, this campaign is about showing others that your experiences and your background - how you look, where you grew up, who you are - all matters, and it's at this place and across the industry It fits."

There have been many surveys on the shortage of cyber security talent but there is no doubt that men in IT in general and cyber security in particular are over-represented. Deloitte cites a study predicting that women will hold 25 percent of cybersecurity jobs globally by the end of 2021. It also cites a 2019 study by the International Information Systems Security Certification Association (ISC) which states that the global cyber workforce will need to grow more. More than 145 percent to meet job market demand.

DeWitt acknowledges that despite the demand and potential for high-paying jobs, cyber security has a reputation for being a technological and male-dominated industry where people sit in front of screens round the clock. So the big hurdle, she said, is that many women are not being seen in leadership positions, and many are understanding that the career requires a technical background.

It was not for DeWitt. She earned a bachelor's degree in social anthropology and focused on the privacy and health care sectors before being hired by the IT Privacy Boutique. Eleven years ago she was hired by Deloitte. She is now a participant in a cyber risk advisory exercise, leading the national data protection and privacy exercise.

DeWitt admitted that she would not volunteer to take on a job that required computer training. But he is qualified to provide advice on why a certain cyber security strategy or technical task is needed in a particular organization.

“Since cyber is everywhere, broad experiences and perspectives are needed to help identify potential risks and cyber solutions,” she said. “People need to understand that this is not a profession just for those holding a computer science degree. Professionals with backgrounds in anthropology, economics, business, human resources and other disciplines can hone their problem-solving skills and approach to cyber security. A team that includes women from diverse backgrounds and views can help an organization think through the 'art of the possible' when solving challenges."

Emily Mossberg, global cyber leader at Deloitte, said the industry needs to "expand the vernacular" used around careers in cybersecurity. Roles such as ethical hackers, data privacy professionals and cyber strategists should be made more visible.

“We need to break down common misconceptions about the type of work that cyber professionals have and the type of experience you have to do that job,” she said.

In her career, DeWitt says she's sometimes faced the notion of what she can do based on what she called the unconscious bias of women being good. This also included whether he was able to perform certain tasks.