After the successful implementation of the first edition of the Women in Cyber Mentorship programme organized by ITU in collaboration with FIRST and EQUALS, leaders in the field came together to reflect on the programme and assess next steps.
BDT Director Doreen Bogdan-Martin introduced and moderated the event. Speakers included Mr Chris Gibson, Executive Director, FIRST; Ms Shawn Richardson, Board Member, FIRST; Mr. Lukas Böttcher, Vice Chairman of the Steering Committee, EQUALS; Ms Marjo Baayen, Global Forum for Cyber Expertise (GFCE); Ms Anett Mádi-Nátor, ECSO Women4Cyber; and Dr Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, Director of the National Cybersecurity Council, United Arab Emirates; Ms Liz Orembo, Communications and Engagement Officer, Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre (GCSCC); and Ms Yomna Sherif, IT Architect/Software Developer, IBM.
''With the growing importance of cybersecurity to every nation's digital development, we are working to remove the obstacles that are preventing women from entering and thriving in the field, through targeted capacity building efforts,'' said Ms Bogdan-Martin. She mentioned that in the first edition of the Women in Cyber Mentorship Programme, 70 mentees from the Arab and Africa regions began their journeys with their assigned mentors.
Young women in cyber, Ms Liz Orembo (2021 Women in Cyber programme mentee) and Ms Yomna Sherif (a Generation Connect Youth Envoy) shared their perspectives and first-hand experiences in the field.
Overall, the event underscored the importance of expanding efforts to provide skills and mentorship to women entering the field, and the need to boost women's leadership as well.
Echoing Ms Orembo, Ms Bogdan-Martin emphasized ''We must not stop here, we need to cover as much ground as possible'', to inspire, train and empower women in cyber.
