Women in Cyber Leadership? hosts a career development panel

When Jennifer Rothstein of Skout Cybersecurity and Erin Flaherty of Arceo.Ai co-founded Women in Cyber Leadership, they envisioned a supportive cross-sector group of experts from all areas of cybersecurity, including lawyers, consultants, and risk and insurance professionals. Now incorporated as a 501(c)(3), Women in Cyber Leadership provides a forum for industry leaders to “share their knowledge, experiences, and insights” to keep current on industry trends and to support each other’s career development.

Yesterday they hosted a series of panel discussions with a diverse group of women leaders talking about their career paths into cyber, the highs and lows along the way, and their best advice for building a career in the space.

Some common themes emerged in the conversations with women from the public sector, entrepreneurs, and risk/insurance:

Personal brand

Bobbie Goldie from Chubb emphasized the importance of knowing and being able to articulate one’s value. She said not to let the “lightbulb moment” take too long when recognizing your value. Ariel Evans, the CEO of Cyber Innovative Technologies and Cyber Intelligence 4U, agreed, saying, “you’re more valuable than you think.” And Obiamaka (Obi) Madubuko, Esq, of Greenberg Traurig, shared how authenticity is essential here: “go to your core,” she said, “what makes you unique” will fill the need in the market, in a career, and will differentiate you along the way.

The importance of a network

Justice Tanya R. Kennedy of the New York State Supreme Court said, “when we show up, that’s when opportunities happen.” We can look for opportunities to build a strong network of advocates. SSA MaryJo Ervin, a cyber expert with the FBI, said when we engage with mentors, we can create an interesting career path: “We don’t always know what our path will be, but if we stay open and connect with mentors” we can build a career that will be interesting and rewarding.

Support each other

Forums like the Women in Cyber Leadership group provide a way to connect and lift colleagues along the way (“make other people heroes,” said one panelist). The speakers said to look for events to raise awareness and don’t forget to bring your colleagues along. Fionnuala Delahunty of Honeywell International said that we must cultivate a willingness to “be vulnerable, to be uncomfortable;” she says, “put yourself forward where you know you can add value.” The support of others creates a good foundation for such personal risks.

Join the conversation on LinkedIn by joining the Women in Cyber Leadership group here.

"When women leaders are able to come together and exchange ideas, support each other and increase each other's confidence, we are empowered to achieve (and exceed) our goals." - Jennifer Rothstein, Co-founder, Women in Cyber Leadership