A recent ISC2 study revealed a persistent gender gap in the cybersecurity industry, with the average representation of women on cybersecurity teams standing at 23%.

Globally, 14,865 individuals participated in the 2023 ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Survey, but only 17% of the respondents were women. The nonprofit member organization noted, “This is a worryingly low figure compared to other sectors like the legal profession (53% women) and the accountancy sector (46%).”

ISC pointed out that the number of women working in cybersecurity has remained consistent in recent years and estimated the percentage of women in the industry is likely ranging from 20% to 25%. “Attracting and retaining more diverse individuals is essential to address the cyber workforce gap of 4 million individuals globally,” the organization wrote.

The study also examined respondents' perceptions of workforce diversity and found that 76% of women emphasized the importance of diversity in their teams, compared to 63% of men. Moreover, 78% of women respondents feel that an inclusive environment is essential for their team’s success.

However, when respondents were asked how their security teams are staffed, and in particular, what percentage of their security teams are women, the overall average stands at 23%. 11% of survey participants said they had no women on their security teams, while only 4% said more than half of their security teams were women. Meanwhile, 21% of male respondents did not know the proportion of women on their security team compared to 13% of women, according to the report.

Among the 11% who said there were no women in their security teams, half of the respondents worked in the U.S. and nearly half of them worked at mid-size organizations with 100–999 employees. The survey also showed that the sectors with the highest female security professional representation were cloud services, automotive and construction (28%), while the military and utilities had the lowest at 20%.

There's a silver lining though, the younger demographic within the cybersecurity industry has a higher percentage of female representation. Women under the age of 30 make up 26% of respondents in that age group, compared to only 16% in the 39-44 age group, and just 13% of those 65 and older.

“It’s great to see incremental progress of younger women entering cybersecurity, however, it’s not enough and more needs to be done. We must continue to build a culture for all women that creates a sense of belonging that results in the retention of women in cybersecurity careers,” ISC2 CEO Clar Rosso said in a statement.

ISC2’s survey also showed that women cybersecurity professionals continue to struggle with fair compensation.

The average global salary of women participants was $109,609 compared to $115,003 for men, a difference of $5,400. In the U.S., the pay gap is wider, with men ($148,035) earning on average $7,000 more than their female counterparts ($141,066).

Meanwhile, the survey showed the global average salary of men of color respondents was $143,610, nearly $8,000 more than women of color respondents ($135,630).