The case for diverse and inclusive workforces is not just a moral or ethical issue. Not when you consider that in January 2022 alone, 18,527 new jobs were advertised for technology-related roles in Scotland.  

This is up 77% compared to January 2020 (10,453) – equivalent to needing to increase the headcount of the entire Scottish tech sector by 20% – considering this, you would reasonably expect a rise in diversity across the industry. 

It would also follow then that employment in the tech sector would grow alongside the intrinsic need for workers in this space, however, this is not the case, with employment growth in the tech sector roughly staying in line with the UK average of 2.1%.  

One area where this shortfall in talent is being especially felt is in cybersecurity. 

The State of Cyber Security in the UK report, in partnership with Oxford Economics and iomart, stated that half (47%) of all the organisations polled cited a shortage of skills as a major challenge to achieving cybersecurity goals. In fact, skill shortage was the most common challenge, coming in ahead of too many products on the market (45%) and budget limitations (40%). 

Even more recently, research by (ISC)² stated that cyber security profession needs to grow by 3.4 million people to close global workforce gap 

This dovetails us again to the questions of diversity in the workforce and how tech employers can attract a diverse work force and maintain an inclusive environment.  

Launched in 2021, the UK Cyber Security Council is seeking to not only develop and accredit the profession but promote diversity and inclusivity in cyber security workforces throughout the UK. Since being launched, the organisation has gone on to secure charitable status, as well as being granted a Royal Charter (the fastest organisation of its kind to do so, no less).

To unpack and address this gap in diversity, we spoke to the Council’s CEO Simon Hepburn to discuss… 

Why don’t more black/ethnically diverse people work in cybersecurity? 

According to the UK Cyber Security Council, there are several estimates of the proportion of people in cyber security roles who are from ethnic minority backgrounds, with these numbers going between 16-18%. 

“At our recent Ethnic Minorities in Cyber Symposium, one of the key issues raised was that of awareness within black and ethnically diverse communities around careers in cybersecurity. In many of these communities, the key aspiration – vocationally – is either doctor or politician. 

“If you’re not aware of cyber security and the fantastic opportunities, then you can’t aspire to be a part of it.” 

In many ethnically diverse communities, there’s even something of a stigma around these kinds of careers that don’t fall within the ‘traditional’ framework of aspiration.  

In one example. Hepburn says: “Recently, I heard a young lady talking about how she hadn’t told her father – who worked in banking – that she wanted to go into cybersecurity. The reason was that he didn’t understand the profession.

“There’s a lack of understanding and awareness about the profession – and not just the idea that there’s this one homogenous cybersecurity profession, but all these different skills.”

As Hepburn puts it, you “don’t have to be a computer programmer to get into cybersecurity.” The opaque nature of what is actually required to start a career in cybersecurity, along with a need to create opportunities and role models within the field are the biggest culprits. 

“You can’t be what you don’t see,” says Hepburn. 

Why should you actively strive for a more diverse workforce? 

In their recently published report, Decrypting Diversity, the UK Cyber Security Council stated 40% of black respondents have met a barrier in their cyber security career (compared to 24% for white respondents). Further, 41% of black professionals surveyed felt they had faced discrimination based on their ethnicity in the industry. With that in mind, why is it important for employers to actively seek out and retain ethnically diverse talent? 

“Cybersecurity is not homogonous and does not have any geographical boundaries,” says Hepburn. 

He adds: “You need people with diverse thought patterns, perspectives and understanding. It means that teams can look at things in a different way.” 

Cybersecurity has a retention problem. A study from the Kapor Center estimated that turnover costs the tech industry $16 billion a year, in part due to stereotyping and harassment in the workplace.  

Creating more diverse work environments could help counteract this effect. In fact, three-quarters of employees and jobseekers said workplace diversity was important to them. More than one-third said they wouldn’t apply to a company where ethnically diverse people reported dissatisfaction. 

Expanding on this, Hepburn says: “Diversity within a wider team creates a good working culture within an organisation and based on the evidence, with regards to growth-profit percentage, there’s a better return on your investment.” 

In an ideal world, there would be a mandate to promote ethnic diversity to the benefit of business and employees alike. 

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In many instances though, the issues can be met with tokenism at best and apathy at worst – it raises the question of whether the media and companies alike use Black History Month to make themselves visible within the discourse of ethnic diversity without committing to addressing the issue. 

It’s something that Hepburn takes an optimistic stance on, saying: “I think we have to take every opportunity we have to make the appropriate links and synergy between cybersecurity and ethnically diverse communities. 

“We have apprenticeship week next year, a national careers week – key thematic areas. It’s about amplification, and Black History Month is part of that.” 

“Based on the strategic focuses of our organisation, where we want to raise the profile, and would absolutely align to and drive agenda forward for events like that.” 

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