As we mark International Women’s Day, it is a great time to look back on an important moment from last month in our ongoing drive to build a more inclusive and accessible digital world.
On 2 February, staff from the ISACA Foundation, presented to the White House Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) on best practices to affect Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) as the United States works to address the cyber workforce gap. To be able to write that sentence less than three years after our launch signals that ISACA Foundation is truly living its purpose to remove barriers and ensure digital trust professions are accessible for all. Equally impressive, this opportunity was born of a collaborative effort among ISACA chapters, academia, NPOs and corporate partners that recognized ISACA Foundation’s mission and expertise as valuable contributions to the ONCD’s initiative.
ISACA Global Government Affairs and Public Affairs Director Emily Bastedo first informed ISACA Foundation of the opportunity to share our input with the White House. From there, ISACA Foundation, in collaboration with Ron Lear, ISACA’s Vice President, Models and Frameworks, crafted our response, addressing four specific areas:
- Best practices relating to DEIA that are uniquely applicable to underrepresented populations and veterans
- Community-wide challenges, including among underrepresented populations, that may inhibit cyber education, training, or awareness efforts
- Best practices to overcome cost and other barriers to an education and training in cyber and related fields
- Best practices to ensure graduates of programs in cybersecurity are fully prepared for work in the field
After submitting our written responses in November 2022, ISACA Foundation was selected to present at a stakeholder meeting held virtually by representatives from the ONCD. ISACA Foundation was one of six stakeholders chosen to present out of a total of 28 respondents to the RFI.
Ginger and I presented our recommendations for best practices, highlighted potential challenges and solutions, and shared ISACA Foundation’s collaborative model as an example of global impact. It was an honor to be “at the table” with other leaders in the DEIA-focused cyber community. At only three years old, our foundation was already in the mix of stakeholders informing government action. Along with the information and insight we shared, the experience of contributing at a federal level among the other experts validated our expertise and scope of impact.
What did we present? Excellent question! We did not want to repeat the written information provided in the RFI response as we sought to have a deeper conversation. Our presentation highlighted ISACA Foundation’s programs and services as potential models of practice as we felt it critical to provide tangible examples and program designs. We talked the talk, and this was our opportunity to showcase how we walk the walk. We shared:
- An overview of ISACA Foundation’s extremely successful scholarship program piloted in 2022
- ISACA Foundation and ISACA’s recent collaboration with the CAT foundation to establish the ISACA Digital Trust Workforce Inclusion Program that trains, certifies, and provides pathways to place underrepresented and untapped talent in the IT workforce
- An overview of the newly revamped SheLeadsTech Toolkit Suite that allows ISACA chapters to broaden their reach and ensure the movement to build gender diversity, equity, and inclusion has global impact
- A first look at the SheLeadsTech Leadership Academy (slated for late-2023 pilot), a program to accelerate the careers of women in digital trust
The impact of the day was obvious. ISACA Foundation made its mark – dare I say, planted a flag. The work we do is WORKING. This is especially encouraging when it seems DEIA efforts in general are becoming stagnant and reduced to mere buzzwords with little action.
We sincerely appreciate the Office of the National Cyber Director for the opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to DEIA in closing the cyber workforce gap and look forward to further engagement. In the meantime, we stay the course, more emboldened and resolved than ever to make change happen. Please visit ISACA Foundation to find out how you can help realize our vision of a diverse and inclusive global community of digital trust professionals.
