#20: Neurodiversity — The Key to More Women in Cybersecurity and STEM
The percentage of women in Cybersecurity is estimated to be 24% according to ISC2. This highlights a significant gender gap and a lack of women in not just Cybersecurity but STEM overall. While there are many global initiatives that are helping to address this, what is often overlooked is Neurodiversity.
What is Neurodiversity?
Neurodiversity was first coined by Judy Singer in the late 1998. It refers to variations in the human brain and covers a multitude of conditions such as Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Tourette’s, Dyscalculia, and more. It is estimated that 15–20% of the world population have Neurodiverse conditions.
For Cybersecurity in particular, there are many advantages Neurodivergent people bring. First, many have incredible memory and attention to detail. Second, many are really good at finding a needle in a haystack. Third, many are amazing in a crisis often with very solid organization skills and being cool under pressure. Fourth, they can think out of the box and can find solutions to complex problems. Any or all of these can make a Neurodivergent person a top-notch Cybersecurity professional.
Impact on Women
Sadly, Neurodiversity is a huge obstacle for many women. First and one of the biggest, Neurodiverse conditions are considered to affect only young white boys. So, women and anyone who is not white are often misdiagnosed, dismissed, or outright ignored. This leads to many women not getting the help they need, becoming depressed, and sadly many often commit suicide. Second, a young girl’s interest in STEM fields is either won or lost as early as middle school, but they need help since interest in STEM often go hand in hand with having Neurodiverse conditions. Third, many women are restricted based on race, family, nation of origin, history, and culture. For example, in many countries around the world, Neurodiversity and mental health are still taboo topics never to be discussed. Fourth, Cybersecurity is hard enough field as is, but it is even harder for women, and even more so for Neurodivergent women. The long hours, stress, and technical skills required are a formidable barrier. The end result, many women just end up quitting or turn away from those career options. We need to do more.
Unleashed
Now imagine if the door was opened and the power of women was unleashed. More women in Cybersecurity could help to fill many of the open jobs available today, the so-called Cyber skills gap. Neurodivergent women in particular can find Cybersecurity a natural career choice, they just need to have their needs met.
First, the biggest way to enable more Neurodivergent women is to allow them to work from home. During COVID-19, Neurodivergent women made huge gains and prospered working from home. Now with COVID-19 in the rear-view mirror for most of the world, most organizations are pushing hard to bring people back into the office and going back to business as usual. These risks erasing the gains made. If an organization wants the best from its staff, do not take away working from home.
Second, many Neurodivergent women need accommodations to perform at their best. Sadly, most are terrified to even ask for them, this needs to change. Accommodations can range from noise cancelling headphones, to captions for meetings, written instructions, or even sitting away from noisy areas. Accommodations have been shown to not be expensive. Also, the negative stigma around asking for them needs to be squashed. Everyone should be free and open to ask for what they need to thrive, period.
Third, remove the negative stigma. When people first meet a person who is Neurodivergent, they get a negative label. These could be: disabled, broken, not worth it, f*cked up, stupid, idiot, worthless, retard, moron, and other derogatory terms (I myself have been given those labels by many). It does not need to be said, but Neurodivergent people such as myself can tell based on the look on the other person’s face, what they say to us, and how they treat us. It could also be the looks, the jokes, and the rumors. Think of it this way, if you were mistreated that way, would you be okay with that? If it’s not okay for you, why should it be okay for a Neurodivergent person?
Fourth, understand that everyone is different and there is no normal. A big flaw in many organizations is assuming that everyone is the same and should work and operate the same way. Think of it this way, many Neurodivergents can easily become specialists in Cybersecurity. Imagine a SOC analyst detecting a hostile threat actor when the rest of the team could not or a pen tester finding ways to break into a system that others have not considered. Why would you restrain them and prevent them from performing at their best? Let them kick ass.
Fifth and finally, be empathetic. More times than not in my long work history, managers have been hostile towards me. First, most do not understand what Neurodiversity is, this makes it easy to be offended by a Neurodivergent person’s quirky traits and lack of social engagement. This can be addressed with Neurodiversity awareness. Also, everyone is different and they all have different needs. The relationship with a boss is the most important at work. Second, many managers are just too busy. More times than not, it is easy to look away and ignore problems, even more so when managing a Neurodivergent. Managers need to turn that around to check to make sure their workers have everything they need to succeed and to help address problems.
Final Thoughts
In closing, I very much believe that Neurodiversity is the key to help more women into Cybersecurity and STEM careers. It does not have to be a regular 9 to 5 corporate job. Many women and Neurodivergent people have found their calling creating their own businesses or volunteering at nonprofits. Change takes time, we just need the courage to fight for it. Finally, Ms. Marvel said it best on the season finale of the show with the same name: “There is no normal. There’s just us, and what we’ve been given.”
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.
