The IT industry has been in the throes of a global skills shortage for a painfully long time. Nowhere is this more keenly felt than in small to medium sized businesses, many of whom regularly struggle to find and retain well trained employees for their security teams. Such a predicament causes numerous problems, ranging from poor security posture and operational issues, to difficulties with implementing digital transformation initiatives that are desperately needed to remain competitive in the modern marketplace. There are many reasons behind this skills shortage, but one that comes up time and time again is the lack of women working in IT. A recent study by WISE found that women make up just 16% of the global tech workforce, with little growth in the last ten years. Looking at cybersecurity specifically, Exabeam’s own annual Cybersecurity Survey revealed that just 21% of respondents self-identified as women. With so few women currently working in the sector, it’s little wonder there’s such a struggle to fill the growing number of open positions.