The Path Toward Championing Diversity in Cybersecurity Education

COMMENTARY

As we enter 2025 and face an new presidential administration, the United States faces a critical challenge — maintaining a steadfast commitment and investment in our nation's youngest learners. 

Today's cybersecurity workforce faces a glaring shortfall of skilled workers and a significant diversity gap.

Embracing different perspectives is not just beneficial, it's essential for driving innovation, enhancing resilience, and fostering stronger partnerships across industry, government, and academia. Together, we can create a more inclusive cybersecurity workforce that not only benefits future generations, but advances innovation and US competitiveness.

Improve Diversity in Cybersecurity by Inspiring Young Minds

The current technology landscape has both challenges and opportunities. Increasingly complex cybersecurity threats demand action, yet we face a shortfall of nearly 265,000 cybersecurity professionals, according to CyberSeek. At the same time, the cybersecurity workforce lacks underrepresented groups — as of January 2024, it was comprised of only 11% Black, 8% Asian, and 12.6% Hispanic employees, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This workforce gap presents an opportunity to reshape the industry through early intervention. By introducing cybersecurity education in kindergarten, we can spark interest from students across diverse backgrounds, especially in marginalized communities where access is uneven. This can help build a workforce ready to meet evolving cybersecurity demands.

Fortunately, organizations like Black Girls Hack, Girl Scouts of the USA, Cyversity, and Raices Cyber are focused on advancing STEM equity and creating pathways into cybersecurity careers for underrepresented groups. By disseminating no-cost resources and curriculum, training educators, and empowering state departments of education to integrate emerging technology and cybersecurity into curriculum, we can collectively address the existing workforce gap and build the workforce of tomorrow. 

While unconscious bias in hiring and promotion practices remains a barrier, companies with diverse leadership teams are 25% more likely to have higher profits. Diversity also bolsters national resilience against cyber threats and drives innovation. Purposeful collaboration across the public and private sectors shows the power of collective action to shape the future of cybersecurity.

Integrating Culturally Relevant Cyber Curriculum into the Classroom

Introducing culturally relevant cybersecurity education as early as kindergarten helps diverse students see themselves in the industry.

Ensuring Hispanic, African American, and tribal communities, among others, have a seat at the table ensures that their perspectives shape educational resources and curriculum. Making cybersecurity education culturally relevant requires deep, meaningful collaboration with community leaders to create content that is culturally appropriate and relevant. Effective implementation in schools means diverse educators from these communities can easily deploy these materials.

Engaging students from diverse backgrounds begins with relatable examples — such as teaching ciphers using lyrics by popular Black artists or adapting common cybersecurity problem by using words and phrases used by the Diné people.

Making cybersecurity relevant to diverse communities gives students visibility into various career paths and emphasizes that cybersecurity is for everyone.

Empowering Future Cybersecurity Experts

By championing diverse perspectives, we can create a more equitable digital landscape and inspire the next generation of cybersecurity leaders. Unlike traditional careers such as nurses or police officers, cybersecurity professionals don't benefit from the same level of visibility. Popular culture portrayals of cyber professionals — usually a lone hacker at a dimly lit keyboard — reinforce this anonymous, invisible stereotype. This couldn't be further from the truth.

Representation is key to showing students they too can pursue careers in the field. Diverse cybersecurity leaders making waves include former Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) director Jen Easterly, National Cyber Director Harry Coker, Black Girls Hack's Tenisha Martin, Palo Alto Networks' Mary Ann Barnes, Check Point Global CISO Cindi Carter, and Raices cyber executive director and founder Eric Belardo, among others. These powerful role models are helping students envision similar careers. 

To build a truly inclusive and diverse cybersecurity workforce, we need a comprehensive approach beyond recruitment and retention. This means expanding access to cybersecurity and STEM opportunities at every educational level, creating and disseminating culturally relevant curriculum, and fostering strong partnerships between educational systems and the public and private sectors.

Through early educational intervention, we can create opportunities for all students, regardless of ZIP code or socioeconomic status, help strengthen our cybersecurity posture, and drive progress.