Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
The global cybersecurity workforce remains stagnant at just 11 percent, according to the 2017 Women in Cybersecurity Report[PDF], co-authored by The Executive Women's Forum on Information Security, Risk Management and Privacy (EWF) and the Center for Cyber Safety and Education, which partnered with (ISC)2. The report is based on survey responses from over 19,000 information security professionals in 170 countries.
Report co-author and EWF founder Joyce Brocaglia says the most important finding of the report is that "it isn't just one thing" causing the persistent shortage of women in information security, but rather a "confluence of events."
The findings, says Brocaglia, show that women are underrepresented, are paid less than their male colleagues, feel undervalued, and feel discriminated against. "That's what's leading to this stagnation."
The shortage is severe in North America, with only 14 percent of the infosec workforce composed of women, but even more striking elsewhere; women only claim 7 percent of the workforce in Europe, 8 percent in Asia, and 5 percent in the Middle East, according to the report.
"Common sense should tell you we should be doing more about this," says co-author and EWF executive director Lynn Terwoerds, noting that in order to solve the cybersecurity skills shortage, the industry must do a better engaging the female population.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday March 21 2017, @01:30PM
The real problem is one step out, where philosophically people can't decide if they want to be free to associate (or not) with people of their choice not depending on large scale demographics or government enforcement at the point of a gun of ratios, while simultaneously thinking it would be fun to live in a perfect meritocracy where there are no such things as likes and dislikes just commodity employment and socializing. And it sure would be nice to have both at the same time, but often enough you can't.
Fundamentally affirmative action is just arranged marriages but for the workplace, for example.