This year, the theme of International Women’s Day is ‘Inspire Inclusion’. That inspiration is needed, because inequality and gender representation still need to improve in cybersecurity. Even though girls outperform at school, just 26 per cent of people under the age of 30 working in cybersecurity are female, according to ISC2. And the percentage is even lower when it comes to senior leadership roles.

The situation is improving, and the proof is that we don’t have to look hard to find those doing outstanding work in security and data protection. We’ve chosen only some of these women to profile today.

We’re taking our own inspiration from the concept of ‘if you see it, you can be it’ – that highlighting female role models in these fields will inspire others. Women in cybersecurity are not only excelling in their roles but also actively empowering others to join the industry. They are paving the way for the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. By sharing their experiences, offering guidance, and advocating for inclusivity, these trailblazers are fostering a supportive environment where women can thrive and succeed.

On International Women’s Day, we believe that’s worth celebrating. Just some of the women we are celebrating are:

Professor Victoria Baines

Currently the IT Livery Company Professor of Information Technology at Gresham College in the UK, Professor Victoria Baines has consulted for police forces in the UK as well as international organisations including Interpol, UNICEF, and the Council of Europe. An excellent public speaker, many of whose talks are available online, her work carries a serious message often tinged with humour. She’s keen for cybersecurity to move away from language that excludes people and makes them feel powerless. One of her latest initiatives calls for adopting the language of community disease control, which gives citizens agency. “The fear, the uncertainty and doubt must go,” she has said.

Helen Dixon

Newly stepped down from her role as Data Protection Commissioner, Helen Dixon’s profile was in the international spotlight due to Ireland’s position as home to the European headquarters of major tech giants. This meant, de facto, the Irish privacy regulator was responsible for overseeing the likes of Facebook/Meta, Twitter/X and many others. She also held the role at a time when the EU General Data Protection Regulation came into force, ushering in an increased public awareness of data privacy. She’s also a committed public servant: the day after finishing with the DPC on February 19, she took up her post at ComReg, the communications regulator.

Jen Easterly

If you’re looking for someone with influence at the highest levels of the profession, it’s hard to see past someone who has had the ear of not one but two U.S. presidents. Jen Easterly is the director of the U.S. Government’s cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency (CISA) and is the first woman to hold the role. During 20 years of service in the U.S. military, she achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. She helped to set up Cyber Command in 2009 and she also worked at the National Security Agency.

Dr. Valerie Lyons

BH Consulting’s Chief Operations Officer and a Senior Cybersecurity and Data Protection Consultant, Dr. Valerie Lyons is a published author of ‘The Privacy Leader Compass’, which in just a few short weeks at the end of 2023, became the year’s bestselling title in its category. Dr. Lyons has been confirmed as a returning speaker for the prestigious RSA security conference in San Francisco. Her experience spans compliance, corporate and ICT governance, data protection, information privacy and team leadership. She is a leading authority on privacy as a CSR and privacy as part of the ESG agenda. She holds an award winning PhD in Information Privacy from DCU, a MSc in Business Leadership from UCC, a BSc (Hons) in Information Systems from Trinity College and a number of post graduate diplomas in Cloud Computing Strategy, Executive Coaching, and Leadership. She has presented her research at multiple information security and privacy conferences including ICIS, CPDP, ISACA and COSAC. Dr. Lyons was one of the first women in Ireland to become a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and is also a Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (CDPSE). She is also a SheLeadsTech champion for ISACA, and a staunch advocate for women in cyber and privacy.

Katie Moussouris

Katie has done amazing work in raising the profile of bug bounty programmes in the industry, which provide invaluable work in bringing previously undiscovered security vulnerabilities to light. As her SANS profile outlines, she has more than 20 years of professional cybersecurity experience, with “a unique and unparalleled perspective on security research, incident response, vulnerability disclosure, and bug bounties”. While at Microsoft, she launched the company’s bug bounty programme which set the standard for other software companies to follow. She has also co-authored two ISO industry standards relating to security vulnerabilities and is an advisor to several governments and large organisations across the globe. Now an entrepreneur and founder of her own company, Luta Security, Katie also campaigns for pay and gender equity in the industry.

Jelena Milosevic

Jelena Milosevic is not your typical cybersecurity professional, because by background she’s a paediatric nurse. She just happens to have a passion for cybersecurity and from this, she has become an active evangelist in the community who raises awareness about security in healthcare settings, drawing on her experiences at the front lines of working at hospitals in the Netherlands. In her many public talks at security conferences around the world, she highlights why security in healthcare is broken and what needs to change. Healthcare providers have become targets for cybercriminals – as we know all too well from the HSE ransomware incident. In her work, Jelena has highlighted that medical data is extremely sensitive which is what makes it so highly sought after.

Jenny Radcliffe

Jenny’s work serves as a useful reminder that cybersecurity might be a technical discipline, but helping people to become more security aware is among the best investments an organisation can make. A social engineer by profession, she consults with organisations who, essentially, ask her to try and ‘break in’ to places that should be off limits – but often aren’t. Her recently published book, ‘People Hacker’, lifts the lid on some of the social engineering tricks she employs to gain access to places she shouldn’t be able to go. Jenny also presented 100 episodes of her podcast, ‘The Human Factor’ between 2017 and 2023.

Here’s hoping the coming years will see more women join the profession. To help play our part in addressing this need, BH Consulting set up the BH Academy to nurture new cybersecurity students through the early stages of their careers.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, it’s essential to recognise the achievements of women in the profession and recommit to fostering a more inclusive and equitable industry. Whether you’re a recruiter hiring for security teams, or a young person thinking over a career choice, it’s positive to see women throughout cybersecurity and data protection who excel and inspire.