Dear Washingtonians!
I loved the theme for this year's International Women's Day - "Choose to Challenge."
The opening paragraph on International Women's Day website could not be more powerful: "A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change. So let's all choose to challenge. How will you help forge a gender equal world? Celebrate women's achievement. Raise awareness against bias. Take action for equality."
First, I want to take this opportunity to celebrate the achievements of all women in state of Washington. They have taught me a lot in my time as the Washington state chief information security officer.
Within the Office of Cybersecurity I specifically want to celebrate Judy Bartley, Sarah Colvin, Lisa Kendall, Jenn Somnis and Jenny Regalado. They are all driven to excel, unflappable in stressful situations and bring strong personal values to their professional capacities. OCS, and the state, are very fortunate to have people with their skills working here.
Second, when I read the opening paragraph from the International Women's Day website and its question "How will you help forge a gender equal world," it reminded me how few women are currently pursuing careers in cybersecurity.
According to a 2019 study by the International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC)², "cybersecurity professionals are more than twice as likely to be male, meaning there is an under-tapped demographic available for recruiting." The survery found that 30% of respondents were women. Among respondents with security-specific titles, 23% of study participants were women.
Clearly we need to do better in the field of cybersecurity and bring more women and their talents to this critically important field.
The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) has started a group, that I am part of, to specifically focus on methods to support and promote women in IT and security.
Early 2020, when I attended a program for new state chief information security officers, one of the questions I was asked is: "What are the three things I would like to be part of my legacy when I leave OCS?"
My answer: The first item on my list - More women in OCS when I leave the office compared to when I took the job! I will work hard to fulfill that item in the coming months and years and I need help from Washingtonians to achieve that goal.
I welcome your thoughts and ideas and look forward to our continuing partnership to serve this great state. Thank you for all that you are doing.
Vinod Brahmapuram
State Chief Information Security Officer