September 1st is International Women in Cyber Day. The technology industry has come a long way over the last thirty years and at Check Point, the story is the same. We have several senior leadership and engineering roles filled by women. Throughout our company, women drive some of the most important technical advances and commercial strategies. Year-over-year the technology industry at large sees an increase in participation by women. This isn’t simply an exercise in diversity – it addresses fundamental business needs.
While we celebrate our progress, we shouldn’t be satisfied with the current state. We face challenges overall in the workforce. Women represent the largest, most underutilized reserve of talent in the technology industry – and in cyber security it’s even more acute. Data from Zippia shows that while women hold 48% of roles in the broader workforce, they represent only 24% of the cyber security workforce. Meanwhile, millions of cyber security jobs remain unfilled. We must continue to find ways to expand our pipeline, and once new people join us, we have to actively encourage their retention, development, and advancement. It’s good for women and it’s critical for our industry.
Building the pipeline means partnerships, mentorships, and more. Our partnerships with groups like Women in CyberSecurity and She Codes are effective ways to build pipeline. Increasing our participation in organizations like these can have a major impact upstream by building skills and networks. Our own efforts in intern and early career recruiting have inclusivity in sharp focus and are yielding progress. Check Point has also committed to training one million cyber professionals by 2028, and free training kits from our MIND Cyber Security Training Program deliver cyber training to educational institutions everywhere. We’ve already trained close to 200,000 people through these initiatives, with many more on the horizon. Programs like these are investments we make in our future and the future of the industry. By increasing access and opportunity, more women can have a real pathway to cyber security careers. A recent World Economic Forum report cites attracting new talent to the industry as a key part of confronting the 4-million-person shortage in cyber talent. Across industries, there are major unmet cyber security needs, and building the structures to encourage the brightest people from all backgrounds to enter the field can only be a good thing.
Building a talent pipeline is only the start. Once talented recruits are in the door, it’s essential to have strong support and resources to encourage their development. Internal working groups and forums – an example is our US group called FIRE – encourage women to connect across roles and build durable networks. Our early career program offers a nurturing environment for participants to experience and contribute to different parts of the business through rotations that allow them to identify their strengths and areas of greatest interest. Formalized programs for mentorship and leadership development identify promising leaders and help them develop further. Senior leaders overall must expand their own networks – this is the place where hiring and development efforts start.
On International Women in Cyber Day, we celebrate the women that are essential to our business, as well as the progress we’ve made. At Check Point, however, we’re always striving to deliver better results every day. That mindset of constant improvement applies to building a more inclusive workplace as well. We will do this by engaging more actively with our own internal programs as well as collaboration with partners across the industry. Organizational and personal action are equally important and impactful. There’s a lot to be proud of on International Women in Cyber Day, and there’s much more to look forward to in the future.
Happy International Women in Cyber Day!