This is part of a running series for #IWD2021. We sat down with women leaders across the industry for a Q&A to get their insights on the state of women in cybersecurity. Recognize Women Leaders in the 2021 Tech Ascension Awards.
Judy Sunblade, Vice President, Revenue Growth & Enablement at WhiteHat Security:
How has the women workforce in cybersecurity evolved over recent years?
Cybersecurity is a growing industry and women are realizing that it is a great field to get into. In previous years, women have shied away from cybersecurity because of its technical nature. Recently, I have seen an increase in the number of women entering the cybersecurity workforce. At WhiteHat, more than 60% of the executive leadership team are women. I got involved in cybersecurity by following my passion of helping high growth organizations to accelerate their sales by implementing sales best practices and a robust revenue enablement process. It was important to me to find a company whose culture and sales philosophy matched mine, and that includes empowering women to be workforce leaders.
What advice would you give to young women looking to enter into cybersecurity?
Definitely check out jobs in cybersecurity. Don’t shy away from cybersecurity because of the misconceptions of it being too technical. Yes, there are technical positions but it is a business. There are plenty of other positions in finance, marketing, sales, enablement, operations, customer success and human resources to look at. It’s an everchanging industry with a plentitude of opportunities. Don’t miss out on a growing industry because it doesn’t seem like a traditional path for you.
At a young age, there are different expectations of girls and boys as it pertains to STEM. Continuing to fight for equality for girls, young women and women in all aspects will make it easier for them to capitalize on careers in tech.
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