Cybersecurity Women of the Year
Carmen Marsh, founder of the 100 Women in 100 Days Cybersecurity Career Accelerator and CEO of Inteligenca, a consulting company that does everything from leadership coaching to cyber risk management plans and audits, has been working in cybersecurity for 20 years.
When she started, Carmen was the only woman on a team of several hundred information security engineers. She expected the number of women in cybersecurity to grow over time but several years ago, Carmen finally had had enough. She remembers thinking, “Where are all the women?”
She became more vocal and outspoken about the issue, speaking at conferences about the lack of gender diversity and skilled talent in cybersecurity. The response from industry leaders and conference-goers was almost universally positive, but some thought women just weren’t interested.
Carmen recognized that there was a stigma about cybersecurity professionals, an unhelpful assumption that the job was meant for anti-social basement dwellers. Her initial question led her on a journey to attract, educate and move women into cyber careers.