The Global Forum on Womxn in Cybersecurity is an invitation-only International Womxn’s Week event hosted by Willis College, the University of Ottawa Professional Development Institute and Invest Ottawa on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at Willis College. Together with key partners including DND, CADSI, KPMG, MIndBridge Ai, Microsoft, CIBC, Sophos and In-Sec-M, and founded on the compelling theme Engaging Womxn in Cyber Careers, the Global Forum will:
· Address the current state of the cybersecurity industry, including a focus on talent needs, opportunities and challenges in developing a highly diverse and inclusive talent pipeline with strong women leaders;
· Stimulate critical dialogue on the need to engage more women in well-paying cybersecurity jobs, and develop a progressive national strategy to attract, develop and retain more women in the cybersecurity workforce;
· Facilitate ideas and recommendations focused on individual and collective action to build a highly diverse and inclusive cyber talent pipeline; and
· Recognize and celebrate the leadership and achievements of women leaders in cybersecurity.
As cybersecurity threats continue to grow as a global priority and concern in a rapidly evolving digital world, the demand for skilled cybersecurity talent exceeds supply. Moreover, cybersecurity and cyber defence have a significant gender problem.
Research from Cybersecurity Ventures (2019) projected that women make up just 20% of the global cybersecurity workforce. A report from the Center for Cyber Safety and Education (2019) states vacant cybersecurity jobs are expected to reach 1.8 million by 2022. And a global study by ISSA and ESG (2018) concluded the skill shortage is intensifying the number of data breaches. In the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and a transformative digital economy, Canada’s global competitiveness depends on strong external global market and on solid performance of its human talents.
The Department of National Defence (DND) approved a project in 2018 to the Defence Engagement Program (DEP) to identify barriers faced by women in cyber technology careers. The consultation of three focus groups engaging both public and private sectors in Vancouver (2018), Fredericton (2019) and Ottawa (2019) resulted in the following recommendations:
· Develop a recruitment and retention strategy that includes a management and policy change and establishes and implements best practices for engagement;
· Address misconceptions about work in the cybersecurity field;
· Address public biases about the role of women, and their ability to thrive in cybersecurity careers;
· Develop and implement talent and education pipelines to connect with women already in the workforce or looking for a career change.
Canada’s competitiveness in the global marketplace rests primarily on the productivity and performance of its human talents. The global competitive landscape in the era of Digital Transformation favours innovative economies of high performance of its total workforce. Imagining an innovative workforce in Canada where women have an increasingly equal footprint is worth working towards and it is a vision that would drive Canada’s competitiveness.
Invest Ottawa, University of Ottawa Professional Development Institute and Willis College are working hand-in-hand to help drive performance of Canadian organizations through learning and development of its workforce. It is through grassroots movements in Engaging Womxn in Cyber Careers that would actively change the tide of the gender problem in the cybersecurity workforce.
