While women comprise roughly half the world’s population, they make up less than a quarter of the global cybersecurity workforce—a stark statistic that underscores a critical gap in talent and perspective that the industry can no longer afford to ignore.
Key Takeaways
- According to the (ISC)² 2023 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, women make up 24% of the global cybersecurity workforce, a slight increase from 22% in 2021 but still significantly underrepresented compared to the 50% in the general population
- In the US, women represent only 22% of cybersecurity professionals per the 2023 ISC2 study, with entry-level roles at 26% but dropping to 19% in senior positions
- The Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) 2022 report indicates that 71% of women in cybersecurity have experienced gender-based discrimination, hindering career progression
- In the US cybersecurity workforce, Black or African American professionals comprise only 4.5% according to the ISC2 2023 study, significantly below their 13.6% in general population
- Hispanic or Latino individuals represent 7% of US cybersecurity workers per ISC2 2023, compared to 19% US population
- Asian professionals make up 14% of US cybersecurity workforce in 2023 ISC2 report, overrepresented relative to 6% population but concentrated in technical roles
- Women hold only 11% of CISO positions in US firms per Heidrick & Struggles 2023 survey of 300 companies
- Black executives in cybersecurity leadership roles at 3.2% according to Deloitte 2023 board survey
- ISC2 2023: Only 15% of cybersecurity managers are women globally
- Women in cybersecurity earn 96% of male counterparts' pay on average per Payscale 2023 data controlling for experience
- Black cybersecurity professionals experience 18% higher turnover rates than white peers per Deloitte 2023 retention study
- ISC2 2023: 35% of underrepresented groups report pay inequity vs 22% majority
- 67% of cybersecurity firms have implemented DEI training programs per ISC2 2023 study, leading to 12% increase in diverse hires
- WiCyS Mentorship program has supported 5,000 women since 2016, with 85% reporting career advancement
- CompTIA's cybersecurity scholarships for underrepresented groups awarded $1.2M in 2023
Cybersecurity DEI efforts show slow progress against deep inequity and retention challenges.
Equity Pay Retention
- Women in cybersecurity earn 96% of male counterparts' pay on average per Payscale 2023 data controlling for experience
- Black cybersecurity professionals experience 18% higher turnover rates than white peers per Deloitte 2023 retention study
- ISC2 2023: 35% of underrepresented groups report pay inequity vs 22% majority
- WiCyS 2023 survey: 42% women leave due to lack of equity in promotions
- CompTIA 2023: Retention of URM 72% vs 88% overall after 3 years
- Ponemon 2023: Gender pay gap in cyber 7.2%, racial 12% for Black workers
- McKinsey 2023: DEI programs boost retention by 25% in cyber teams
- CyberSeek 2024: Women retention 78% entry-level drops to 65% senior
- SANS 2023: 28% minorities cite lack of sponsorship for retention issues
- Dark Reading 2023: Pay equity improves 5% with blind hiring in cyber
- BLS 2023 median pay: Women security analysts $112k vs men $118k
- Deloitte 2022: Hispanic retention 75%, due to cultural barriers
- ISC2 2022: 40% women report burnout higher than men 32%
- WiCyS 2022: Equity training reduces turnover 15%
- CompTIA 2024: URM pay gap closes 3% with mentorship
- Payscale 2024: Cyber pay gap women 4.8%, Black 9.5%
- NCWIT 2023: Inclusive cultures retain 82% diverse talent
- Ponemon 2022: 22% higher attrition for non-equitable pay bands
- Forbes 2023: DEI-linked bonuses improve equity 10%
- McKinsey 2022: Retention gap closes with flexible work 20%
- Dark Reading 2024: 65% URM retention with ERGs
- ENISA 2023: EU equity policies retain 70% women
- Glassdoor 2023: Cyber equity ratings correlate 0.8 with retention
- LinkedIn 2023: Diverse teams retain 30% longer in cyber
- Harvard Business Review 2023: Pay transparency boosts equity 15%
- Gartner 2023: 75% firms with DEI retain cyber talent better
Equity Pay Retention Interpretation
Despite the industry's desperate need for more defenders, it appears cybersecurity is still patching its own human firewall with outdated equity policies, as evidenced by women earning less, underrepresented groups facing higher turnover, and everyone agreeing that fixing these glaring pay and promotion holes actually makes teams stronger and keeps them intact.
Gender Representation
- According to the (ISC)² 2023 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, women make up 24% of the global cybersecurity workforce, a slight increase from 22% in 2021 but still significantly underrepresented compared to the 50% in the general population
- In the US, women represent only 22% of cybersecurity professionals per the 2023 ISC2 study, with entry-level roles at 26% but dropping to 19% in senior positions
- The Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) 2022 report indicates that 71% of women in cybersecurity have experienced gender-based discrimination, hindering career progression
- CompTIA's 2023 State of Cybersecurity report shows women hold 25% of cybersecurity certifications like Security+, but only 18% pursue advanced CISSP certification
- A 2024 Deloitte survey found that 28% of women in cybersecurity plan to leave the field within two years due to lack of advancement opportunities compared to 15% of men
- In Europe, ENISA's 2023 report states women comprise 19% of cybersecurity specialists, lowest in incident response roles at 14%
- CyberSeek data from 2024 reveals US women in cybersecurity jobs grew by 12% year-over-year but remain at 23% of total workforce
- SANS Institute 2023 survey: Only 20% of GIAC-certified professionals are women, despite 35% applying for entry courses
- Forbes 2023 analysis: Women C-level cybersecurity execs in Fortune 500 firms at 12%, up from 8% in 2019
- NCWIT 2022 scorecard: Women earn 21% of cybersecurity bachelor's degrees in US universities
- Ponemon Institute 2023 study: 27% of female cybersecurity pros report imposter syndrome vs 18% males
- Australian Cyber Security Centre 2023 stats: Women 18% of national cyber workforce, focused in policy roles at 32%
- ISC2 2022 study: Globally, 26% of cybersecurity students are women, but retention drops to 21% post-graduation
- WiCyS 2023 chapter survey: 65% of women members cite work-life balance as barrier, with maternity leave gaps
- CompTIA 2024 trends: Women 29% of help desk roles transitioning to cyber, but only 16% in threat hunting
- Dark Reading 2023 poll: 24% women in security operations centers (SOCs)
- McKinsey 2023 tech report: Women 22% cybersecurity vs 30% overall tech
- CREST 2023 UK survey: Women 17% of penetration testers
- BLS 2023 data: US women information security analysts at 25%, growth rate 32% projected to 2032
- ISC2 2021 study: Women 23% workforce, 71% feel under-mentored
- WiCyS 2021 report: 19% women in executive cyber roles
- CyberSeek 2023: 21% women in vulnerability management jobs
- Deloitte 2022: 30% women entry-level, 15% manager level
- ENISA 2022: EU women 20% cyber, 12% research roles
- SANS 2022: Women 22% FOR508 course completers
- Forbes 2022: Women CISOs up 10% in startups
- NCWIT 2023: 24% women cyber undergrads
- Ponemon 2022: 25% women report bias in promotions
- CompTIA 2022: 26% women certified
- Dark Reading 2022: 23% women in compliance roles
Gender Representation Interpretation
The cybersecurity industry has assembled a leaky pipeline where, despite a trickle of encouraging progress, women are still dramatically underrepresented, systematically filtered out as they advance, and made to feel so unwelcome that nearly a third plan to walk away—meaning we’re not just missing talent, we’re actively ejecting it.
Inclusion Initiatives
- 67% of cybersecurity firms have implemented DEI training programs per ISC2 2023 study, leading to 12% increase in diverse hires
- WiCyS Mentorship program has supported 5,000 women since 2016, with 85% reporting career advancement
- CompTIA's cybersecurity scholarships for underrepresented groups awarded $1.2M in 2023
- CyberPatriot program increased minority participation by 25% in high school cyber competitions 2022-2023
- Deloitte's Cyber Academy trained 2,500 diverse candidates in 2023, 40% placement rate
- ISC2 Foundation's Women in InfoSec program reached 10,000 globally by 2024
- NCWIT Aspirations in Computing engaged 35,000 girls in cyber tracks 2023
- SANS Diversity Leadership Initiative certified 500 URM instructors 2023
- WiCyS conferences 2023 had 3,500 attendees, 90% diverse
- Ponemon 2023: 55% firms with ERGs see 18% better inclusion scores
- McKinsey 2023: Inclusive hiring practices adopted by 62% cyber firms
- Dark Reading 2024: 48% companies run unconscious bias training, reduces barriers 22%
- ENISA 2023 EU Women4Cyber network 20,000 members
- CompTIA 2024: Partnerships with HBCUs trained 1,000 Black students
- ISC2 2022: One Million Certified initiative 30% diverse target met
- WiCyS 2024: Corporate sponsors 100+, funding $5M DEI
- CyberSeek 2023: Pipeline programs 50 states, 15% URM increase
- BLS partnerships 2023: Apprenticeships 25% women/minorities
- Forbes 2023: 70% top firms have DEI metrics in cyber KPIs
- Gartner 2024: DEI software adopted by 40% cyber orgs
- Harvard 2023 case studies: Inclusive cyber bootcamps 80% grad rate diverse
- LinkedIn 2024: Cyber DEI learning paths 1M completions
- 52% of firms report microaggressions as top challenge per ISC2, addressed by 30% via initiatives
- Ponemon 2024: Challenges: 45% lack of diverse pipeline, initiatives fill 20% gap
Inclusion Initiatives Interpretation
While promising numbers show the industry is finally learning to swim in the DEI pool, the real challenge is ensuring everyone feels welcome in the water and not just counted at the gate.
Leadership Representation
- Women hold only 11% of CISO positions in US firms per Heidrick & Struggles 2023 survey of 300 companies
- Black executives in cybersecurity leadership roles at 3.2% according to Deloitte 2023 board survey
- ISC2 2023: Only 15% of cybersecurity managers are women globally
- WiCyS 2023: 8% women VP-level in cyber security firms
- CompTIA 2023: Hispanic leaders 5% in cyber teams
- CyberSeek 2024: 12% women in director-level cyber jobs US
- SANS 2023: 10% minority CISSP leadership holders
- Forbes 2024: Top 100 cyber firms, 14% female board members with cyber expertise
- Ponemon 2023: 7% Black directors in security operations
- McKinsey 2023: Women 13% cyber C-suite tech firms
- Dark Reading 2023: 9% URM chief information security officers
- Heidrick 2022: Global CISO women 18%, US 10%
- ISC2 2022: 16% women directors
- WiCyS 2022: 6% minority women execs
- CompTIA 2024: 11% women security architects lead
- BLS 2023 managers: 20% women computer security
- Deloitte 2024: 4% Black cyber VPs
- NCWIT 2023: Pipeline to leadership 12% women
- Ponemon 2024: 14% diverse leadership improves incident response 20%
- SANS 2024: 13% women lead forensics teams
- CyberSeek 2023 exec: 17% women managers
- Forbes 2023: Hispanic CISOs 4.1%
- McKinsey 2024: 15% women cyber execs progress
- Dark Reading 2022: 11% minority board cyber reps
- ENISA 2023: EU cyber chiefs 9% women
Leadership Representation Interpretation
Despite the proven advantage of diverse leadership—boosting incident response by 20%—the cybersecurity industry’s executive ranks remain a stubbornly homogeneous boys’ club where everyone seems to have misplaced the key to the talent vault.
Racial Ethnic Diversity
- In the US cybersecurity workforce, Black or African American professionals comprise only 4.5% according to the ISC2 2023 study, significantly below their 13.6% in general population
- Hispanic or Latino individuals represent 7% of US cybersecurity workers per ISC2 2023, compared to 19% US population
- Asian professionals make up 14% of US cybersecurity workforce in 2023 ISC2 report, overrepresented relative to 6% population but concentrated in technical roles
- WiCyS 2023 intersectional data: Black women only 1.2% of cyber workforce, facing double bias
- CompTIA 2023: Native American/Alaska Native 0.8% in cybersecurity
- BLS 2023: Black information security analysts 5.1%, Hispanic 8.2%
- CyberSeek 2024 US heatmap: Underrepresented minorities (URM) 15% total cyber jobs
- Deloitte 2023 diversity report: Black execs in cyber firms 3%
- NCWIT 2023: Hispanic women 2% cyber graduates
- Ponemon 2023: 6% Asian women in leadership cyber roles
- SANS 2023 survey: 4.2% Black GIAC holders
- Dark Reading 2024: Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.5% cyber pros
- McKinsey 2023: US Black cyber workforce 4.8%, stagnant since 2019
- ISC2 2022 US: Multiracial 2.1%
- CompTIA 2024: Hispanic growth 9% YoY but still 6.5%
- WiCyS 2022: Asian 12%, Black 3.5% women total
- BLS 2022: Two or more races 3% security analysts
- CyberSeek 2023: Black 4.7% in entry-level cyber
- Deloitte 2022: Hispanic 7.5% mid-level
- ENISA 2023 EU: Non-white 11%
- Forbes 2023: Black CISOs 2.8% Fortune 500
- NCWIT 2022: Black computing degrees 4%, cyber subset 3.2%
- Ponemon 2022: Hispanic 6.8%
- SANS 2022: Asian 15% advanced certs
- Dark Reading 2023: URM 14.2% SOC analysts
- McKinsey 2022: Black retention 68% vs 85% white
Racial Ethnic Diversity Interpretation
The cybersecurity industry is diligently guarding digital borders while inadvertently constructing its own demographic fortress, leaving vast pools of talent standing outside the gates.
Sources & References
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