This International Women’s Day we want to celebrate the women working in cyber and security with the launch of a new podcast, ‘Off Mute’.
Off Mute - a new podcast
Women make up 47 % of the UK workforce, but only 15 % of the cyber sector is female. A severe underrepresentation and an obvious gender imbalance.
Off Mute is a series of 30-minute in-depth interviews with women working in the security profession. Those featured will come from a variety of backgrounds including senior leadership as well as those who are not from a cyber or technical background. The interviews will cover topics such as career progression, leadership, what a career in cyber entails, and what it’s like to be a woman in the cyber sector.
Tune-in whether you’re already in the cyber profession or are interested in a career within it. Episodes will be published monthly on this blog.
The creators
Off Mute was created by three fast streamers (Sam, Sophie and Isabella). They are at the start of their careers in cyber security on the Digital, Data and Technology and cyber stream. Their aim is to inspire others and highlight the accessibility of the profession and its necessity in the modern world.
It's been an exciting process co-ordinating this podcast as we have come up with the idea entirely self-sufficiently and then sought out the help of the Government Security Profession and the Diversity and Inclusion leads within the Cabinet Office who have supported this idea from as soon as they heard about it. If we want to ensure a skilled, diverse, workforce, we must make sure we have all walks of life discuss their professional experiences to illustrate to others that there are people like them in the profession, and we need more!
You don’t need to come from a technical or cyber background
We want to encourage people who are currently underrepresented in cybersecurity to consider cyber and the government security profession to be a place for them. The digital economy is developing at a rapid rate, and we want to inform others about the profession to ensure increased diversity and inclusion for all.
Off Mute Episode 1
This month, the Off Mute team speak with Anna, a senior threat analyst at the Home Office. Anna came from a non-technical background, but has worked her way up from an apprentice into a technical, line management role. In this episode she provides insight into her career progression, the challenges she has faced along the way, and provides her unique insight into the world of cyber.
Click here to read the full transcript of Off Mute Episode 1 transcript
GSP is keen to feature inspirational work colleagues from all backgrounds within the security profession. If you or someone you work with has an interesting story to share please contact gsp@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.