UK Cybersecurity Industry Sees Women's Representation Hit Lowest Point Since 2021

The proportion of workers identifying as women in the UK cybersecurity industry has fallen to 16 percent, the lowest figure recorded since 2021. This is despite girls regularly outperforming boys in STEM subjects at school, and sits well below the UK's 48 percent average for women across all industries, and 30 percent across the digital workforce more broadly.

The gap widens further in senior positions, where women with six or more years of experience make up only 12 percent of the workforce, a figure that has barely moved since records began. UK government interviews with industry stakeholders found the barriers were largely structural, with some employers deliberately excluding women from senior roles. Recruiters reported that assumptions about women's future family plans, including fears they would take extended leave after becoming pregnant, were still influencing hiring decisions, despite this being a clear breach of the UK's Equality Act 2010.

The report also pointed to lingering stereotypes that cybersecurity is 'an old boys' club' and that women lack interest or technical skill in the field. One cybersecurity firm described a careers talk where a group of girls walked out, with the careers teacher reinforcing rather than challenging the idea that the sector held no appeal for them.