Only one-fifth of US computer science and engineering degrees are earned by women
Amid high-profile breaches on websites such as Ashley Madison and the IRS, experts say the need for cybersecurity professionals—including women—is only growing.
Nearly 2 million global cybersecurity professionals will be needed by 2017, according to the National Cybersecurity Institute at Excelsior College. At the same time, the cybersecurity industry is facing a gender gap.
"One of the interesting things that we see is that 50 percent or more of those graduating from college are women, and 11 percent only are in the cybersecurity field," said Shelley Westman, vice president at IBM Security. "So what we see is as an industry, we're leaving a lot of talent on the table," she said.
Westman was among several keynote speakers at a New York City conference last month on recruiting more women to cybersecurity.
Professor Nasir Memon of New York University said the conference was designed to reach high school and college students as well as women looking to change careers. "We do that by getting leading women from industry and getting them to talk about what it is to be doing cybersecurity," said Memon, who heads NYU's computer science and engineering department.
Read MoreCriminals staging DDoS attacks available by hour anonymously
Nearly 2 million global cybersecurity professionals will be needed by 2017, according to the National Cybersecurity Institute at Excelsior College. At the same time, the cybersecurity industry is facing a gender gap.
"One of the interesting things that we see is that 50 percent or more of those graduating from college are women, and 11 percent only are in the cybersecurity field," said Shelley Westman, vice president at IBM Security. "So what we see is as an industry, we're leaving a lot of talent on the table," she said.
Westman was among several keynote speakers at a New York City conference last month on recruiting more women to cybersecurity.
Professor Nasir Memon of New York University said the conference was designed to reach high school and college students as well as women looking to change careers. "We do that by getting leading women from industry and getting them to talk about what it is to be doing cybersecurity," said Memon, who heads NYU's computer science and engineering department.
Read MoreCriminals staging DDoS attacks available by hour anonymously
US women made up 26 percent of computing professionals in 2013—the same level as in the 1960s
Source: CNBC
Attendees at the NYU-Polytechnic School of
Engineering Career Discovery in Cybersecurity listen as Shelley Westman
from IBM speaks.
Overall, the ranks of women in computing fields remain low.
Women made up just 26 percent of computing professionals in 2013—the
same level as in the 1960s, according to the American Association of
University Women (AAUW).
"If you want to create a workforce ... you want to create a talent pipeline, you cannot simply ignore half the population," said Memon.
Beyond the U.S., other countries are leaving fewer women behind when it comes to computer science and engineering. In both Malaysia and Indonesia, women earn roughly half of the computer science and engineering degrees, while only one-fifth of those same degrees are earned by women in the U.S.
Not only can women fill the estimated nearly 210,000 vacant cybersecurity positions in the United States, they can also bring new perspectives.
"When you have a balanced team of both men and women, the teams are able to look at things a little bit differently and make sure that you're really looking at all causes, all effects and really get to the heart of the problem," said IBM Security's Westman.
And cybersecurity careers pay well.
The average industry salary is around $116,000 according to a survey by Semper Secure, an organization looking to draw more talent specifically to Virginia.
Culled from CNBC
"If you want to create a workforce ... you want to create a talent pipeline, you cannot simply ignore half the population," said Memon.
Beyond the U.S., other countries are leaving fewer women behind when it comes to computer science and engineering. In both Malaysia and Indonesia, women earn roughly half of the computer science and engineering degrees, while only one-fifth of those same degrees are earned by women in the U.S.
Not only can women fill the estimated nearly 210,000 vacant cybersecurity positions in the United States, they can also bring new perspectives.
"When you have a balanced team of both men and women, the teams are able to look at things a little bit differently and make sure that you're really looking at all causes, all effects and really get to the heart of the problem," said IBM Security's Westman.
And cybersecurity careers pay well.
The average industry salary is around $116,000 according to a survey by Semper Secure, an organization looking to draw more talent specifically to Virginia.
Culled from CNBC
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