Why we need to retain women in the cyber security industry

By Niomie Haynes, Cyber Resilience Manager at the North West Cyber Resilience Centre (NWCRC)

Women are not well represented across the tech industry but within the cyber space, this gap is even wider and doesn’t look like it’s improving anytime soon. On International Women’s Day, I wanted to take this time to reflect on where the industry is with gender equity and increasing gender diversity - and what needs to happen next.

The North West, particularly Manchester and Lancashire, has a very strong cyber sector, with the National Cyber Force headquartered in Samlesbury, Lancashire and the Lancashire Cyber Partnership bringing together industry and academia.

I’ve worked within cyber and fraud prevention for more than20 years now and I am very used to being in a minority within the workplace. However, this means that I am a huge advocate of encouraging women into the cyber security industry and supporting women who do work in the industry.

Women in Cyber

A recent study by the UK Government found that within the overall digital sector workforce, 30% of the workforce are women. However, if you narrow this down to just the cyber security sector, the percentage of women within the workforce is just 17% and only 12% are women in senior positions. These statistics are really quite shocking and collectively the industry needs to look at how to bring more women into the industry and importantly - how to retain them.

As a minority within the industry, I walk into meetings or industry events and immediately notice how few women are in the room. Over time, that can make you question whether you belong there, even when your past experience and skills mean that you have earned your right to be in the room.

Imposter Syndrome is very real for many of us, and without the right workplace support it can affect both performance and personal wellbeing. When your voice feels like the odd one out, it can be tempting to stay quiet, even when you know you have something important to add.

Empowering women in cyber

Last year, the NWCRC supported meto attend the Empower You: Empowering Women to Lead in Cyber Security, which is designed to develop leadership skills. Beingsurrounded by women who were experiencing similar challenges was incrediblyinspiring and it’s important to note that leadership in cyber does not have asingle look, voice or style.

I am also part of a Women in Cybergroup, within the Chartered Institute of Information Security , which is always really supportive and makes a huge difference to the industry.

Working for a business andhaving a leader that actively supports women in the industry also made a hugedifference to me growing confidence throughout my career. When someonechampions your development, gives you opportunities and backs your judgment inthe room, it becomes much easier to navigate those moments of doubt. It’shelped me understand my own value, speak more confidently about my skills andsee clearly what I bring to the industry.

One of the things organisations can do more of is to create clear pathways for career progression to retain women in tech roles. Without this, women don't feel valued and will leave taking their skills with them. These departures cost the UK tech sector and between an estimated £2 billion and £3.5 billion annually. (Lovelace Report2025)

Being actively included in opportunities and being given the chance to demonstrate their skills by fairly distributed projects within organisations can help support the retention of women in tech roles.

Why women in cyber securitymatters

Overall, the aim for creating more gender balance is about developing the ability to build better products and services with a workforce that truly reflects society. With more women in senior roles, a business will broaden their decision-making abilities and organisations with a diverse leadership team are better able to understand their range of customers or service users. 

In conclusion, there is a lot of work to be done by the industry to solve these issues. I still see male dominated businesses, who may not understand what they need to do and we need to support them in doing better by talking about these issues more and more.