Recognising International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8th, CyberNorth seized the opportunity to put a spotlight on diversity to encourage and inspire the future stars of the cyber world. Remembering the old adage ‘you can’t be what you can’t see,’ we set out to show the next generation of young women just how brilliant a career in cyber security can be.
The North East cyber scene is growing! We’re quickly establishing ourselves as a UK hub for cyber activity and excellence. Cyber businesses are thriving, our Universities are producing fantastic talent, and the region is collaborating and innovating together.
We know that investing in this emerging talent is absolutely vital for regional success. By educating our young people now, we strive to retain the North East’s reputation, which in turn powers growth and opportunity for our entire regional economy. It’s vital to ensure that everyone in the North East has the same opportunity to be part of the world of cyber irrespective of who they are or where they are from.
So, we launched an International Women’s Day mission:
Inspiring Women in Cyber: We kicked off the month by partnering with Gateshead College for our “Inspiring Women in Cyber” panel on March 5th. We heard inspiring and insightful stories from Sally Wilkinson (B4RN), Emmanuella Hagan and Kimberley Graham (Sage), Mel Gurney (Punk Security), Monika Sharma (Gateshead College), and CyberNorth’s own Head of Portfolio Delivery, Helen Matthews. We wanted to ensure that young women had inspirational female leaders to learn from. The panel shared their real-world perspectives on their career pathways and encouraged the largely female audience to consider how they could succeed in cyber.
CyberFirst Girls Competition: Talk about a tight competition! On March 26th, the CyberNorth Team and our brilliant Student Ambassadors joined partners RTC for the CyberFirst Girls Competition at the Sage Offices. The event saw the top four teams come together to take on some tough cyber challenges. Each and every one of the girls was brilliant. They demonstrated technical skill, teamwork, and an impressive ability to problem-solve under pressure. It was tough to pick a winner but in the end St. John’s Catholic School & Sixth Form College took the trophy home. Huge congratulations from the CyberNorth team!
Girls in Tech: We kept the momentum going the very next day, March 27th, with the Ahead Partnership for their Girls in Tech digital careers insights day. GirlTech targets students aged 12-14 ahead of making their GCSE choices – a critical time for boosting female representation in digital careers. Around 60 students participated in a range of activities including a cyber workshop, design sprint, and panel discussion. Once again, we were delighted by the energy and enthusiasm from everyone in the room. GirlTech showcased the incredible talent across the North East and demonstrated that our region thrives when everyone is given the chance to explore new opportunities.
Seeing girls from across the North East stepping up with such enthusiasm to learn and succeed in cyber security demonstrates how much of a powerhouse leader the NE is in cyber.
Congratulations to all of the brilliant young women who took part in our March IWD events. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for you!
