Traditionally, the cybersecurity landscape has been very homogeneous. It does, however, necessitate greater diversity, particularly among women.

Women made up only 20% of the cyber security workforce in 2019, while individuals of color made up even less. So, why isn’t cyber security a more inviting and accepting environment?

Cyber teams must stay attentive and ahead of the game as hackers become cleverer and more intelligent, employing more creative techniques, diversified ideas, and problem-solving skills. However, if the team comes from a similar background and has shared experiences, this can be difficult to achieve. When it comes to threat attack vectors, being more diverse will allow businesses to cover more ground.

Cloverpop discovered that teams who use an inclusive decision-making process with input from a diverse variety of people make decisions twice as fast and get 60% better results. To combat new dangers from as many perspectives as feasible, it is desirable to have a wider range of educational and linguistic backgrounds, diversified neurodiversity, and greater ethnic diversity.

So, how can businesses strive toward diversifying their security teams?

Getting away from the old ways of recruiting

Employees that are technically ‘qualified’ in cyber security courses tick certain boxes, but they are primarily theory-based and need only a bare minimum of real-world skills demonstration. Instead of looking for specific qualifications and skillsets for entry-level roles, focus on intelligence and motivation.

Instead of a CV, the most important characteristics to search for are personality, aptitude, and potential, not pre-existing hard abilities. The willingness to gain new skills and abilities is very crucial.

Employ people from a variety of backgrounds

These desirable attributes can be found in a wide range of people, not just technical grads. Therefore it’s critical to look for new ways to locate the best candidates. According to The Telegraph, the Armed Forces are recruiting troops with “quite distinct skill sets” in light of the growing prevalence of cyber warfare. The Forces will encourage variety among a staff that deals with over 1800 cyber-attacks every month, so recruits will no longer need to suit certain body types or pass fitness standards.

The same is true for neurodivergent people who want to work in cyber security. This is open to all members of the neurodivergent community since the hands-on learning setting allows them to hone their abilities while hosting career prospects from global clients who are focused on embracing them into their organizations.

It’s important to explore beyond what’s considered typical background or experience. It’s critical to pay attention to career changers since they bring a variety of viewpoints and experiences to the table.

Find latent talent in the current workforce.

To work well, a company needs a diverse range of people and skills. As a result, it is advised that all employees, not only IT employees, have access to cyber skills training content. Whether it’s resourcefulness, communication, a competitive edge, or simply simple fast thinking, the team will already have a multitude of transferrable talents.

Create a Diversity and Inclusion, working group.

Skills obtained from a variety of life experiences from people from various backgrounds are always preferred. Companies can devote time to forming a Diversity and Inclusion working group to brainstorm ideas and implement changes inside the organization to increase understanding of complex issues and make people feel safer or more included.

Volunteers from all areas of the company — engineers, marketing, sales, finance, developers, HR, and the C-suite – could be the most effective method to attract diverse talent. The next step will be to improve hiring standards and practices, correct obsolete language, and implement novel outreach initiatives to attract people from varied backgrounds. Taking employee surveys and generally attempting to be more available in order to create a safe atmosphere for everyone will become easier.

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