Cybersecurity giants, BAE Systems, DarkTrace and GCHQ, are on a mission to address the industry’s gender diversity gap by recruiting more female coders during Cyber Awareness Month.
Despite cybersecurity being one of the fastest-growing industries in tech, analysis of the latest ONS Annual Population Survey reveals that women make up just 19% of cyber professionals in the UK. Yet, with an estimated 1.8 million cybersecurity job vacancies at the end of 2023, the industry is also facing a major skills gap.
By partnering with Code First Girls (CFG), one of the largest providers of free coding courses for women in the UK, all three companies have sponsored almost 200 women to learn how to code. They are currently looking to recruit female coders across roles such as cyberanalysts and junior software engineers through the CFG degree, a free, 16-week course.
A recent survey by Code First Girls of more than 1,200 women showed an increasing number are exploring pathways into tech – despite 80% reporting that a career in tech was neither mentioned nor encouraged at school. This includes roles in cybersecurity, with previous applications to GCHQ and BAE Systems’ opportunities being 300% and 420% oversubscribed.
“To keep the UK safe, it is fundamental that the cybersecurity industry places an emphasis on employing more diverse teams to better address the security threats present today and in the future,” said Anna Brailsford, CEO of Code First Girls.
