Women in CyberSecurity Announces Allyship Symposium and Breakfast

Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS), the nonprofit organization dedicated to the recruitment, retention and advancement of women in cybersecurity, announced that it will be holding an invite-only Allyship Symposium and Breakfast at its WiCyS 2023 conference in March.

The workshop is open to WiCyS sponsor and partner passholders and is designed to build greater empathy among WiCyS’s allies and help them explore tangible steps towards creating a more inclusive workforce in the field of cybersecurity. Done in collaboration with Change Catalyst, the workshop will be facilitated by Melinda Briana Epler, Founder & CEO of Change Catalyst and author of “How to Be an Ally.”

During the gathering, participants will learn actionable steps they can take to be allies for women in cybersecurity. Throughout the symposium, they will learn to identify and interrupt common biases and microaggressions that women in tech experience, understand how women with intersectional identities want their allies to support and advocate for them, and commit to taking specific allyship actions moving forward.

This interactive learning experience will include information sharing, polls and word clouds, breakout discussions and peer storytelling. A panel discussion with diverse WiCyS community leaders will provide a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of women in cybersecurity and their allies. The program will end with attendees’ commitments to allyship. After completion of the program and their written commitment to allyship, participants will receive a digital badge and lapel pin to showcase their WiCyS allyship and a list of actions to practice at WiCyS’ events and in the workplace.

“Despite our name, we are not a women-only organization,” said Lynn Dohm, executive director of WiCyS. “We are a community of like-minded people of all genders who help drive the change that is needed in the cybersecurity industry. It is only with this collective voice that we can make a real impact in enhancing inclusivity in the workplace.”

This event is by invitation only to WiCyS sponsor and partner passholders attending the conference. Anyone who registered for the conference with a strategic partner pass, conference sponsor pass, or career fair pass will receive an invitation. The symposium starts at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 16 and will conclude by 11:30. RSVP is required.

To learn more about the WiCyS 2023 Conference, visit https://www.wicys.org/events/wicys-2023/.