Project
The Women in Cyber Mentorship Programme
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Summary
Aim
The yearly ITU-D Women in Cyber programme aims to tackle the cultural and systemic barriers that prevent broader inclusion of women in cybersecurity, while working to equip them with the necessary skill set to enter and thrive in the field. The goal of the programme has been and will continue to foster community building, guidance, and senior-junior solidarity among women in the sector.
Context
The International Communication Union (ITU), the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) and EQUALS Global Partnership (EQUALS) launched a joint mentorship programme for empowering women in the cybersecurity field. The programme engages role models and leaders in this field and connects them with talented women wishing to enter and evolve within the cybersecurity sector through an effort of truly impactful capacity building and empowerment.
The first edition of the Women in Cyber Mentorship (WiC) Programme was launched in 2021 on International Women’s Day and was jointly organized by the ITU, the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), and EQUALS. Since then, almost three hundred women have been trained and mentored across seventy-three countries in the Arab, Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions.
Outcomes
Several mentees have reported being able to find jobs in the cybersecurity field because of their participation in the programme (98% of WiC alumni would recommend the programme to their peers), with some alumni becoming changemakers themselves in their national contexts, learning from their WiC experience and leading new local capacity building efforts for women and marginalized communities.
Participants have reported that the programme allowed them to learn and develop skills and knowledge that are otherwise difficult to access in the cybersecurity field: an overall understanding of the sector, awareness of the different career paths, building a personal brand and progressing towards professional goals, and increasing their confidence in being girls or women in cybersecurity.
Activities
The Women in Cyber Mentorship Programme is a three-part initiative that will incorporate a series of inspirational keynotes, technical and soft skills training courses, and a six-month mentorship programme.
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