European registry of female cybersecurity experts launched

Initiative aims to help reduce predicted skills gap

The European Commission and the European Cybersecurity Organisation have launched the first registry of European women in cybersecurity. Their aim is to help expert groups, policymakers and businesses find female expertise in the field and ultimately increase the number and proportion of women working in it.

By 2022, there will be a need for 1.8 million more cybersecurity workers globally and 350,000 in Europe, according to research cited by the Commission. That gap is “exacerbated by lack of female representation”, it said in its announcement on 7 July, with women making up only 11 per cent of such workers worldwide and 7 per cent in Europe.