BOSTON, Aug. 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals (ICMCP) today announced the appointment of Deidre Diamond, Founder and CEO of not-for-profit Brainbabe.org and staffing company CyberSN, to its Strategic Advisory Board.
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With extensive experience in the cybersecurity field, Diamond will play a key role in helping to shape the strategic objectives and direction of the organization.
The ICMCP is a volunteer-led 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to closing the gap of under-representation of women and other minorities in the field of cybersecurity.
According to the National Security Foundation (NSF), minorities make up a mere 29% of the overall science and engineering workforce in the United States. In the field of cybersecurity, female cybersecurity practitioners represent only 10% of the cybersecurity workforce despite being 48% of the overall workforce the US. The combined percentage of African Americans and Hispanics in the field of cybersecurity amounts to a dismal percentage of less than 15% of the overall cybersecurity workforce.
"Media-perpetuated stereotypes depicting women in the cybersecurity and technology fields as 'tomboys,' 'bad girls,' or 'geeks' have negatively impacted young girls' willingness to get involved with STEAM careers—especially cybersecurity," Diamond commented when accepting her appointment.
She noted that according to Symantec, "The demand for the (cybersecurity) workforce is expected to rise to 6 million (globally) by 2019, with a projected shortfall of 1.5 million." Diamond added: "A large portion of these open jobs do not require computer programming or computer networking expertise—these jobs instead require communication soft skills, problem-solving skills, team skills and organizational skills.
"The #brainbabe organization is focused on raising awareness about these lesser-known cyber security opportunities while producing fast-training programs for women who will be the next members of Security Operations Teams.
"ICMCP is putting a spotlight on a very serious issue: there is simply not enough minority talent in cybersecurity. This problem is an economic and national security issue. Together we can make the changes needed to advance our profession, to empower women and minorities to have fruitful careers in cybersecurity and to make our country a safer place."
About CyberSN and #brainbabe
CyberSN (CyberSN.com), a Boston-based staffing company, is committed to making cybersecurity job searching and hiring simpler. Not-for-profit training institute #brainbabe (brainbabe.org) is an organization working to empower women and men in cybersecurity. For more information, visit cybersn.com, Brainbabe.org, or contact Lisa Kendall at [email protected].
About ICMCP
Obtaining official approval by the United States Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a Tax Exempt Non-Profit Public Charity organization operating under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code in July of 2014, the International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals (ICMCP.org) began official operations in September of 2014 is organized exclusively for charitable educational purposes, more specifically to provide our members educational/technical scholarships, mentoring opportunities, professional development and networking.
Media Contact: Lisa Kendall
Email
888.470.8011 x 111
URL: http://www.icmcp.org
SOURCE International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals (ICMCP.org)
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