Getting more women working in cyber security will improve the effectiveness of the sector, a new report has recommended.
Only 10 per cent of people employed in cyber security are female.
The matter was discussed at a diversity workshop run by CREST, a not-for-profit accreditation and certification body representing the technical information security industry.
Ian Glover, president of CREST, said: 鈥淚ncreasing the number of women in cyber security is not simply for diversity鈥檚 sake, but for the sake of the industry.
鈥淥ne of our attendees put it best, suggesting that by consistently taking people from the same backgrounds, we鈥檒l keep coming up with the same approaches and solutions.
鈥淭he first step is to work out why women are not entering the industry.
鈥淎lthough most of our workshop attendees agreed that cyber security is welcoming to women, the perception from outside the industry is much the opposite.
鈥淚t is clear that this is one of the major challenges we face.鈥�
He added: 鈥淲hilst it was important to address the current diversity challenges that the sector faces, the main purpose of the workshop was to discuss and find ways to actually facilitate change.
鈥淎reas that were felt vital when addressing the issue were education, awareness, industry perception, support, role models and barriers for entry.
鈥淚t was also felt that we had to be clear who to target with a campaign to ensure both short and long-term success.
鈥淔inally, we discussed how to get the message across all ages, cultures and regions.鈥�
Manchester Digital will confront the lack of gender diversity in the tech sector by running a session with several top firms.
In July British Gas launched its own women in tech network to provide a community for its female employees to network and collaborate.