Gender representation in the cyber security industry has been a widely-discussed topic for many years. Women have been vital to cyber security throughout its history, since the first computer programme prototype developed by Ada Lovelace in the 19th century, to the wartime code-breakers of Bletchley Park who were predominantly female.
However, in modern times the technology industry is significantly male dominated – one recent survey suggests that women comprise just 22% of the cyber security workforce. This is despite the digital world being increasingly central to the daily life, business and national security of entire populations.
The UK recognises cyber as a critical domain for the future and a significant space for promoting gender diversity and equality. With cyber threats and the safety of digital spaces being a global issue, supporting and empowering our partners and allies around the world is just as important.
The UK’s Women, Peace and Security National Action Plan and Women and Girls Strategy created both the opportunity and imperative to address gender in the Indo-Pacific region. In BAE Systems Digital Intelligence, we have been proud to support the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) with cyber capacity building in the Indo-Pacific, and as part of that the launching of the flagship UK-South East Asia Women in Cyber Fellowship.
Providing opportunity for change
The Fellowship was created to attract, promote, empower and retain women in cyber security, with a focus on emerging female leaders in cyber security in the region. We brought together 18 delegates from nine countries in South East Asia to participate, all emerging or established cyber security leaders across government, private sector, academia and not for profit.
This initiative provided the opportunity for delegates to expand their networks and collaborate on crucial challenges in cyber security as well as in digital inclusion, diversity and career progression. Thanks to a truly inspiring group of women, the Fellowship was able to achieve its ambition of creating a ‘safe space’ and an ‘alumni’ network of female role models that we hope will sustain many years into the future.
The team approached the running of the Fellowship in a variety of ways to build a meaningful network and a rich environment for delegates to connect, learn and progress. This included:
- Collaboration on small projects: Themes were developed by research partner RUSI based on areas of interest to UK cyber security research and capacity building, including ‘Mainstreaming Cyber Professions, Skills and Learning Pathways’, ‘Resilient Societies and Cyber Hygiene’, and ‘Quick Fixes for Small Enterprises’. In groups, the delegates shaped these into specific project topics, and collaborated through the year on outputs.
- Mentorship: Four inspiring mentors from BAE Systems Digital Intelligence, RUSI and DAI – all subject matter experts in their area of cyber – came on board to share insights, support the delegates, and guide them with their small projects.
- Topical presentations and group discussions: A schedule of in-person and virtual Fellowship events was designed to give delegates the chance to join discussions with guest speakers, ask questions, and contribute their expertise to tackle current cyber security challenges collectively.
- Access to cyber experts: The delegates connected with over 30 notable senior stakeholders and subject matter experts in the cyber security field during in-person events in Singapore, virtual presentations and workshops, and monthly Fellowship newsletter articles.
Empowering female cyber leaders
Feedback from the delegates themselves helped us better understand their needs and shape the Fellowship’s pilot year. It was encouraging to hear delegates unanimously agreed that the Fellowship was relevant to their community or country and to their work and career progress, and exposed them to a wide range of new approaches and ideas.
One delegate said that the Fellowship has “not only supported my professional development where I work, but also laid the foundations of where I can go to in the field of cyber”. Another “found it very inspiring. It built my confidence as before the fellowship I had nobody in the field to talk to, but when I joined the fellowship we shared the same stories of career challenges and I realised I was not alone.” This highlights just how important it is to build networks like this to support and empower women in cyber security.
I am extremely proud to have been involved in such an important and worthwhile project. As part of the delivery team, I look forward to seeing how the delegates continue to draw on this network as they undertake future roles in cyber security and continue to inspire other women in South East Asia and around the world to dream big in cyber.
Visit the Women in Cyber Fellowship website to learn more about the initiative.