From Awareness to Action: How Humans of Cybersecurity are Taking the Dismal Data About Industry Diversity and Pushing for Inclusion

We are excited to welcome Veronica Villalobos, Principal Deputy Associate Director at the Office of Personnel Management, to our panel!

By now, you've probably heard the numbers: the cybersecurity field is made up of only 11 percent women, and is less than 12 percent African-American, Hispanic and Asian. You may also know that this isn't just a social justice issue - but one of economic stability and national security. 

If we want a strong national cybersecurity infrastructure, it's crucial not only that we fill hundreds of thousands of open cybersecurity jobs, but also that the demographics of the cybersecurity workforce reflect the population it's trying to keep safe. That's not only because research shows that diverse teams make better products, but also because when the product is security, it's even more important that we harness the ideas and experiences of heterogenous groups. 

For many public and private institutions, this data, and the realization of the diversity problem, has prompted soul-searching and inspired big questions: Why is the industry so homogenous? And what can we do about it? 

Join Humans of Cybersecurity, New America's cybersecurity diversity project, to hear stories from the leaders who are answering those questions and taking charge for change in the public and private sector. They'll share what's working, what's not, and what challenges lie ahead.

This event will be livestreamed here, as well as on our Facebook page.

Participants: 

Andrea Little Limbago, @limbagoa 
Chief Social Scientist, Endgame 

Ashley Podhradsky 
Associate Professor and Director, Dakota State University 
Co-Founder, CybHER 
Cybersecurity Policy Fellow, New America 

Devon Rollins, @DevonMichael_ 
Director of Cyber Threat Intelligence, Capital One 
Co-founder, STEMLY 
Cybersecurity Policy Fellow, New America 

Veronica Villalobos 
Principal Deputy Associate Director, Office of Personnel Management 

Moderator: 

Elizabeth Weingarten, @elizabethw723
Director of the Global Gender Parity Initiative, New America