Ethical hacking has always been viewed as a job suitable for a male. It has become a redundant stereotype, where movies and the entertainment industry have always, to date, have projected similarly. But it is only fair to ask if this is a male-alone job. I would like to explore and see if women have been given the space in the industry to make their hands dirty in cybersecurity.

In 2021, a few hurdles were crossed, and a cybersecurity-funded foundation fellowship was established in Nigeria, especially for girl children below the poverty line. This foundation helps these kids to get back on their feet with sponsorship and training to become cybersecurity professionals in the niche field of cybersecurity. This has empowered the girl children in Nigeria to gain the required skills to become industry-relevant in cybersecurity. The foundation offers a one-year funded program for girl children between the age of 15-21 to explore and position themselves in the most sought-after industry of cybersecurity.

Israel went a step further. The Israel Defence Force has made efforts since 2021 to encourage women to be trained in cybersecurity. They believed that this training could enable them to use a few ethical hacking techniques during their military service and in their job force in the future years. Under the C4I and Cyber Defence Directory, a branch responsible for communication and technology operates the IDF’s military school. The Cyber Defence Directorate offers a specific preparatory cyber defence program. The Force encourages women to take up the program and join the Defence Force.

These are a few instances of the gradually increasing ratio of women in the front end fighting as cybersecurity experts. But there is an urgency to understand the need for the ratio difference in the workforce regarding gender.

Recent research has proven that despite an increase in the gender ratio in cybersecurity, the percentage of men is 80. In contrast, the percentage of women working in cybersecurity is 20. It has been identified that most women stick to becoming Software Development Engineers or SOC analysts in the cybersecurity industry. Women have been hesitant to get into the real stuff of fixing vulnerabilities and risk mitigation.

The gap results from a lack of awareness of cybersecurity and the stereotyping of girl children during their high school education. It is essential to make it a point to educate the girl children during their school time on the different types of cybersecurity career opportunities and keep them aware of the other job scopes they can achieve. It has also been identified that a large society presumes ethical hacking or cybersecurity as a taboo—the lack of industry insight and guidance regarding cybersecurity awareness in an era of increasing digitalization. The ever-developing technology and its loopholes expose them and require them to adapt. These have caused an exponential gap in the gender ratio in terms of the cybersecurity workforce.

Accordingly, to address this issue, it is only fair to provide an opportunity to the larger mass of girls in schools and colleges by educating them on the importance of cybersecurity and ethical hacking. These young women need to be aware of the cybersecurity crimes of StrongBox.Academy, an institution that provides cybersecurity awareness training programs to enable career opportunities in a ‘zero unemployment industry.’ There is necessary to bring out awareness and increase the female ratio in cybersecurity by enforcing the need to adapt to the digital space and keep up with the pace.