"Women in Security"
Women in technology and women in information security is a “thing” these days.
Sometimes it feels a little weird. Why does it matter that I have different biological equipment than some of my colleagues?
I have mixed feelings about getting questions from reporters like,
- “What do you think it takes for a woman in security to succeed?”
- “What advice do you have for women in security?”
That being said, I learned early in my career that looking different (as a woman, you do tend to stand out in a crowd of men at a security event) meant that there was somewhat of a magnifier effect on women at work and in the industry.
I believe that the stories we hear influence the values that we have, and that the role models that we see affect how we choose to behave. What I love about these diversity conversations is that more women and other underrepresented populations in technology are speaking out about their experiences and sharing their stories.
Read my blog post on the topic.
What do you think? What's your story? Tell me in the comments below.
You're so right, #womenintech has become a "thing" and that makes me hesitate when I'm asked to be interviewed or be on a panel. Interviewers always seem to have a bias towards telling the story of overcoming or coping with stereotypes. And I'm not entirely comfortable with speaking for my entire demographic, so I just stick to trying to share the fun challenges I've had in the industry. Because at the end of the day, the fact that there's always a new challenge I can learn from is what makes my job in InfoSec enjoyable. And from my perspective enjoying a challenge is one of the main prerequisites for being successful in any emerging industry.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts here Caroline Wong, CISSP and for being a contributor to, and supporter of, ITSPmagazine's Equal Respect column. For those interested, here's a link to Caroline's profile where you can find her contributions in both written and video form. https://itspmagazine.com/meet-the-experts/caroline-wong/