This is part of our ongoing coverage of #InternationalWomensDay.
Jessie Auguste, a Coding Black Females leadership team member and Backend Software Engineer at CybSafe, shared what makes diversity and inclusion so important in cyber:
"International women’s day means the opportunity to celebrate women and the communities and spaces that support and encourage them to continue.
For me, the theme of embracing equity is the understanding that initiatives, spaces and projects to uplift women are a crucial part of leveling the playing field in a male-dominated space.
A report from Accenture and Girls Who Code found that women are 50% more likely to drop tech roles before the age of 35 — that’s 2.5 times more likely than men.
Community is a source of resilience, which contributes massively to longevity in a difficult career. Investment from the industry into the preservation and support of these communities is crucial.
Combinations of discrimination, microaggressions and unconscious bias can be exhausting as an under-represented person in technology and cyber security. This is especially true if your identities can place you in a way that can be these ‘isms’ are combined.
Access to communities that champion you as a woman in the industry, so that you can have a safe place to celebrate yourself and others like you, and also receive the support and understanding that you need on those tough days.
I hope companies and individuals within cyber security find as many opportunities as possible to be involved in uplifting women through communities and their initiatives."
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