WiCyS
State of Inclusion
Join us for phase 2 of our Inclusion Assessment as we study to understand the real causes of disparities in the experiences of women in cybersecurity, and to help us understand how best to pinpoint and remove the barriers that keep women from being recruited, hired, retained and advanced at the same rate as men.
The Deadline to Particpate in Phase 2 is June 30.
Phase 2: Cybersecurity Industry-Wide Inclusion Benchmark
WiCyS partner organizations have a unique opportunity to join our study by conducting an Inclusion Assessment for their organization at a highly discounted rate. Participating in Phase 2 will benefit the entire sector by creating an industry-wide State of Inclusion benchmark, and it will help each participating organization become more inclusive, diverse and successful.
Why should your organization participate?
Partner organization leaders will learn how to link inclusion metrics to top- and bottom-line financial results and to greater workplace diversity and equity. They will understand how adding inclusion metrics will improve their recruitment and retention efforts. They will pinpoint specific opportunities to help their team members become more satisfied while increasing the organization’s overall performance.
Extending the initial study to include partner organizations will also strengthen the State of Inclusion of Women in Cybersecurity benchmark, ensuring that it reflects a wide range of organizations, providing additional insights, and allowing for a comparison between the experiences of women and men in cybersecurity.
What does each partner get?
By participating in the study, each partner will receive a confidential State of Inclusion Report, providing a quantitative assessment of their level inclusion across more than two dozen indicators, and a comparison of each metric with the overall industry benchmark.
Each State of Inclusion Report will also include detailed descriptions of specific experiences impacting their employees. Combined with the quantitative analysis, these descriptions will give each participating organization a crystal-clear understanding of their current level of inclusion, where the biggest opportunities for improvement lie, and what specific actions and initiatives are most likely to succeed.
Each organization’s individual report is confidential and will not be shared with other organizations or released to the public. Only the aggregate, industry-wide benchmark will be shared as part of WiCyS’ final State of Inclusion of Women in Cybersecurity report.
What is the project timeline?
Sign-up for WiCyS partners will open in April. Interested organizations need to join the project no later than June 30, 2023.
Data collection will begin in May and continue through August.
Data analysis and report preparation will take approximately three months.
The State of Inclusion Reports for each organization will be distributed to participants by late November.
The final 2023 WiCyS State of Inclusion Executive Summary will be released to the general public in December 2023.
What is the cost of participation?
WiCyS Strategic Partners are being provided access to Aleria’s services at a significant discount. Eligible partner organizations can participate based on the following tiers:
Tier 1: $20,000
Tier 2: $25,000
Tier 3: $30,000
Current Tier 3 and Tier 2 partner organizations can upgrade their partnership to enjoy the additional discounts.
The pricing includes a dedicated assessment and confidential report based on the organization’s cybersecurity-related staff, with comparisons to the industry-wide benchmark across several inclusion metrics. Each participating firm will also receive a complimentary copy of the final industry-wide “State of Inclusion of Women in Cybersecurity” report.
What else is required for participation?
For successful participation and to ensure high-quality results, each partner should dedicate an internal project lead or small team that will interact with WiCyS and Aleria staff on all aspects of the project, including:
- Invite members of the leadership team to participate in one of several Leadership Inclusion Workshops
- Encourage employees to participate in one of several Inclusion Measurement Workshops
- Review draft report and provide feedback
- Disseminate results internally
- Oversee execution of legal agreements and invoicing
State of Inclusion Assessment in the News
Study: Women in Cybersecurity Feel Excluded, Disrespected
Lack of Respect, Career Opportunities Lead to Exclusion for Women in Cybersecurity
People Drive Women’s Feelings of Exclusion in Cybersecurity
Women Feel Excluded in Cybersecurity Roles, Study Says
What’s Really Causing the Cybersecurity Gender Gap?
Women in Cybersecurity Still Fight for Inclusion Despite the Talent Shortage
FAQS
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WHAT KINDS OF ORGANIZATIONS ARE ELIGIBLE?
Participation is open to any organization that is a WiCyS partner. WiCyS partner organizations will enjoy a deep discount based on their partnership level, as described above.
Organizations that are not WiCyS partners can join WiCyS to enjoy the discounts corresponding to the level they select.
Industry sector
Participating organizations should be either a cybersecurity organization (that is, a organization whose primary product or service is in cybersecurity), or organizations in any industry with a significant number of employees in cybersecurity-related roles.
Organization size
In order to ensure meaningful results, it is recommended that participating organizations can secure participation by at least 100 employees. Lower levels of participation make it difficult to create a detailed Inclusion Report. If you are unsure whether your organization is sufficiently large, please contact us using the contact form or email [email protected]
CAN SMALL ORGANIZATIONS AND STARTUPS PARTICIPATE?
Smaller organizations, including startups, can participate by inviting their team members to take part in any of the Measuring Inclusion workshops that will be announced.
While a custom inclusion assessment and report will not be possible for these smaller organizations, they will be able to purchase the final State of Inclusion of Women in Cybersecurity report, which will include data and insights about the state of inclusion in smaller organizations. Hence participation by smaller organizations will support WiCyS’ overall mission and ensure that the voices of team members from small organizations are heard.
If you are unsure whether your organization is sufficiently large to participate, please contact us using the contact form.
HOW CAN MY ORGANIZATION PARTICIPATE?
If your organization is interested in participating, please provide your name and contact information using the contact form and you will receive the required information.
WHAT INFORMATION IS INCLUDED IN THE REPORTS?
Each organization’s State of Inclusion Report will include the following items:
- Participation data with demographic and role breakdown
- Multiple metrics for each of several Categories of Inclusion and Sources of Exclusion
- A curated, fully anonymous list of descriptions of experiences of exclusion
- If a sufficient number of employees participate, drill-down by gender will be included in the standard Inclusion Report.
- Depending on the level of participation by the organization’s employees, optional drill-down may be possible along additional dimensions:
- Personal identity traits (race & ethnicity, sexual orientation, visible or invisible disabilities, age)
- Role-related traits (general type of role, seniority)
- Geographic areas (note: comparison to the industry benchmark will only be possible for North America)
- Other custom dimensions such as division, location, etc.
WHAT IS THE GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE OF THIS PROJECT?
For 2023, the State of Inclusion benchmark will be focused on the US and Canada. Individual organizations wishing to assess their level of inclusion globally may have the option to do so, but the industry benchmark will be limited to these two countries.
WILL THE FINAL INDUSTRY-WIDE REPORT BE MADE PUBLIC?
An executive summary with highlights from the study will be made available to the public.
All WiCyS member organizations who participate in this project will receive, in addition to their own confidential State of Inclusion Report, a full copy of the WiCyS industry-wide State of Inclusion of Women in Cybersecurity report.
All WiCyS partner organizations who do not participate in the project can purchase the full industry-wide report for $3,000.
WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE?
For questions regarding the Inclusion Assessment and measuring inclusion in general, please email [email protected].
For questions regarding becoming a WiCyS member partner or upgrading your current partnership level, please reach out to [email protected].
Please visit this page again for updates.
