Being a young cyber professional & a black woman in the workforce has some obstacles. The work force still needs improvement to attract talented black women. Women are more than “secretaries” we are smart, we can handle pressure, we can handle multi-tasking, we can handle leadership roles! Here are some recommendations to improve the workforce.
Attend Events for Black Women in Tech
As mentioned, black women can advance in cybersecurity, but where do you meet these women? The workforce should start participating in events that caters to black women. Attending these events will inform the workforce of the talented black women and diversify their organization. Below are a few events that companies should attend this year. Thus, black women will be more willing to apply to these companies.
- https://www.blackwomentalktech.com/
- International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals https://icmcp.org/
- www.afrotech.com/
- https://womenscyberjutsu.org/
Marketing to Attract Black Women
Representation matters to black women in the workforce. Black women seeing themselves in cybersecurity roles will encourage them to excel in this area. For instance, when the movie “Black Panther” came into theaters I was excited to see black women in charge. Seeing Princess Shuri as an innovator of Wakanda’s modern technology was uplifting.
Black women should represent equally in leadership roles as well. If there are no women on the panel what does that say about the companies culture. Are they implementing various programs within the company to encourage these women to apply?
As mentioned, being a black woman in cybersecurity has its obstacles. However, recommending these changes I hope this will improve the workforce. Maybe one day I won’t be the only black woman at the table.