Decoding the gendered imaginary of cybersecurity careers: a social shaping of technology perspective

Abstract

Women account for less than one quarter of the global cybersecurity workforce. Encouraging more women into cybersecurity careers has been identified as one way to address persistent skills shortages in this crucial field. Using expert elicitation, this paper draws on in-depth interviews with 31 senior cybersecurity professionals in Australia to analyse the popular imaginaries that characterise cybersecurity careers. Applying social shaping of technology to examine the causes and effects of women’s low participation in cybersecurity careers, this paper finds that cybersecurity careers are characterised by gendered imaginaries that frame cybersecurity as the exclusive domain of ‘hackers-in-hoodies’, secretive male operators possessed of highly specialised technical knowledge. These imaginaries not only distort the lived reality of cybersecurity work, limiting the popular appeal of cybersecurity careers, they also shape how cybersecurity itself is defined, with gendered effects. This paper calls for a more expansive and inclusive definition of cybersecurity to broaden the appeal of this increasingly interdisciplinary field and ensure gendered consideration of cyber risk.