International Women’s Day: Achieving Gender Parity in the C-Suite and Advancing Equity in the Cybersecurity Industry

Industry analysts often highlight how gender parity is making headway in the business world, but is this true? In the alleged glass-ceiling world of the C-Suite where the comparison between male and female C-level leaders is still highly skewed in favor of men, it is common to read that women are generally under-represented.

During this year’s International Women’s Day, Check Point Software Technologies is proud to join organizations around the globe in answering the call to “embrace equity” by highlighting our own progress and actionable steps for the industry.

In a recent interview, Rupal Hollenbeck, newly promoted President of Check Point Software,  said, “there’s nothing more exciting than bringing a diverse group of people together, bringing out the best in them and enabling them to run so that in the end, they’re achieving something that they never thought was possible…it’s pure magic.”

As Rupal goes on to describe in the Women in Action podcast, a key component to leading high functioning and successful teams is building a culture of equity, where everyone receives the resources they need to achieve equally. This is especially important for the diverse teams at Check Point who work tirelessly every day across time zones, languages and cultures to secure the world.

How are we doing this at Check Point Software?

First, with the recent addition of Nataly Kremer as Chief Product Officer (CPO) and Head of R&D, we are proud to have achieved gender parity among our C-Suite. Between Rupal Hollenbeck, newly appointed President, Dorit Dor, new Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Nataly Kremer, and Tal Payne, our Chief Financial Officer (CFO), 80% of the company´s employees are led by women globally. Unfortunately, this is not yet the norm in other global organizations. A recent global study from IBM and Chief found that a mere 12% of C-Suite and Board level roles are held by women.

We are also committed to building and maintaining our leadership pipeline. Globally, 20% of our Vice Presidents are women. The industry standard is 16%. Throughout our offices, we have mentorship programs, job training and employee resource groups dedicated to supporting and advancing women in their careers.

We recognize the significant shortage of cybersecurity professionals in the current job market, with an estimated 3.4 million vacant positions globally. This puts immense pressure on IT teams who face increasingly complex cyber attacks daily. To tackle this issue, we have developed a range of cybersecurity training programs collectively known as Check Point Mind.

One such program is Check Point SecureAcademy™️, which partners with over 100 higher education institutions across 40 countries to provide cybersecurity education worldwide. As part of the Check Point MIND initiative, these educational institutions offer Check Point security certifications as a component of their existing curriculum, enabling students to enhance their cybersecurity knowledge. Through these partnerships, we aim to promote and expand educational and career prospects for students globally.

Finally, we call on our partners around the world to join us in embracing equity in 2023. We all have a role to play in supporting women, building a culture of equity and bolstering the cybersecurity industry.

Please join us in sharing your wisdom and support for equity today and throughout the year.