Student Group Encourages Women to Consider Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is facing two significant workforce issues—a gender gap and widespread vacancies. According to the 2020 Women in Cybersecurity report, women working in the field account for 24% of its overall workforce, up from just 11% in 2017. There are also reportedly 500,000 open cybersecurity positions in the United States.

As a way of addressing these two issues, students at WPI created a chapter of Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS), a national organization with a goal of encouraging girls and women to enter the computer science fields. Since 2019, WPI WiCyS has facilitated team and individual coding exercises, guest speakers, and mentorship programs for young women interested in cybersecurity.

WPI WiCyS President Nicole Conill ’22 says she “fell in love” with the concept of women in cybersecurity after attending the national WiCyS conference in 2019. Soon after returning to campus, she and another student decided to start their own chapter of WiCyS. At first, Conill says, she viewed the club as a way to boost her resumé. When she became more invested in the club, she realized it opened many career opportunities, in addition to providing a way to give back to others. Now she has been “traveling and meeting people [in the field] all the time, every year” both on and off campus.

While the club is academically and technically focused, some of its greatest strengths may be in empowerment and representation. WPI WiCyS Vice President Alexa Freglette ’22 says she first became interested in cybersecurity in high school and joined WiCyS during her sophomore year at WPI. Freglette says she has benefitted from taking part in the club and is already hoping to pay it forward: “It’s exciting to be at the forefront of [cybersecurity], and I hope to inspire future generations of women and girls as they pursue their dreams.”

Mentorship, networking, and career guidance are important aspects of the club that may run counter to the stereotype of a solitary cybersecurity professional, according to Craig Shue, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science.

“There’s actually a friend group in this discipline, a group of people who want to help [these women] and see them succeed,” he says. In addition to giving a boost to the students already studying computer science and cybersecurity, having more women in the classroom and at WiCyS events encourages others looking to get into the field.

Both Conill and Freglette will be at WPI for an additional year to pursue their MS in cybersecurity. But their involvement and attachment to WiCyS likely won’t end there. As Conill says, “It’s almost a lifelong organization.”