Study to understand gender in local cybersecurity sector

RMIT University has partnered with the Australian Women in Security Network (AWSN) to better understand important gender dimensions in the Australian security sector. It’s envisaged that insights from the study will help develop potential solutions to sector skills and diversity challenges.

Australia requires an additional 7000 practitioners in the cybersecurity sector alone by 2024, according to AustCyber. Given growing awareness about the gains of diversity for organisational performance, decision-making and responsiveness to real-world challenges, the lack of skills and diversity in the cybersecurity sector also implies that the sector is not operating optimally.

“Current available estimates suggest that women comprise somewhere between 11% and 24% of the cybersecurity workforce; there is no robust measure of the gender composition of Australia’s security industry, or a clear picture of the types of jobs that women are undertaking and the skills they possess,” said Director of the RMIT Centre for Cyber Security Research & Innovation Professor Matt Warren.

“This study will aim to give a more robust and definitive estimate of the gender diversity within the security workforce,” he said.

Executive Director of the AWSN Jacqui Loustau said the study will allow AWSN to assess the impact of its initiatives.

“By having a baseline and a clearer picture of the actual number of women working in the security industry, it will allow us to measure the success of initiatives to attract, support and retain women in the industry,” she said.

The AWSN’s involvement in the study has been facilitated through sponsorship support by the Australian Signals Directorate, one of Australia’s peak national security agencies.

RMIT Economist and research team member Dr Leonora Risse added that the research project would also provide “a deeper understanding of the barriers and enablers to women’s careers in the security sector.”

“The insights generated by the research project will be valuable for expanding the sector’s talent pool and equipping it for the growing challenges and demands it faces in the future.

“While existing research suggests general ways to expand the sector’s talent pool, there is little focus on gender inequalities and the factors that explain women’s low representation in the sector.

“This project provides insights to better understand the factors that can either support or deter women from pursuing, and flourishing in, a career in the security sector,” she said.

Members of the security workforce, including physical security, personnel security, information security, cybersecurity, and security governance — and across all genders — are encouraged to complete the survey. Further information and a link to the survey can be found here.

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