Career In Cybersecurity: Need More Female Role Models To Encourage Women; Diversity Is Key

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, cybercrime has increased significantly, increasing the demand for cyber-related skills. There has been a 25% rise in demand for online talent on an annualised basis. According to industry analysts, there is a talent battle in this sector, and by 2025, India is anticipated to have over 1.5 million unfilled cybersecurity job opportunities, according to TeamLease Services.

But even while companies race to fill vacancies, which are generally filled by graduates of engineering schools, a significant section of the people are missing from it – women.

Women’s participation in cyberspace is currently extremely low. Rituparna Chakraborty, co-founder and executive vice president of TeamLease Services, said that India’s cybersecurity business is rapidly expanding, and the need for qualified professionals in this field has increased manifold.

“Women, on the other hand, are expected to make up only around 11% of the workforce in the industry by 2025,” said Chakraborty.

It turns out that companies are seeking talent in places like engineering institutions – where there aren’t many female prospects. Because of the rapid speed of change in cyberspace, some companies are considering diversifying their workforce by recruiting graduates as well. They reckon diversity is required to solve complex cyber challenges, given the rate at which cybercrime is growing.

Although organisations consider cybersecurity to be a technological issue, Deepa Seshadri, a partner at Deloitte India, believes it is more of a business issue.

“Given the frequency with which cyber attacks occur, there is an inherent human aspect, which is also the weakest link in the chain. As a result, new hiring techniques are required. When a firm hires for cyber, they often look for someone with a background in engineering. That is an unintentional prejudice. HR experts would also be suitable for data and privacy-related positions, according to Seshadri.

Because of the way cyber is growing, no matter how talented a person is at the start, they will need to be constantly reskilled and upskilled. As a result, different applicants are being encouraged to enter this field. “Diversity may benefit in the resolution of complicated situations since, by definition, diversity brings in a variety of viewpoints,” Seshadri explained.

The number of women in engineering colleges is still low. Seshadri said her company is encouraging organisations to recruit from other graduate colleges to ensure diversity hiring in cyberspace.

Deloitte has a “women in cyber” initiative with the goal of including a broad talent pool in its cyber workforce. Cyber curriculum is also being introduced at non-engineering universities, according to the business. “In the previous three months, we’ve hired 23 percent BSC/MSc/BCom/MCA and 77 percent BE/BTech/MTech in cyber. Previously, the number was heavily skewed toward BE/BTech,” Seshadri explained.

She said the industry needs more female role models who can attract and encourage more women to pursue careers in cybersecurity.