A post by Claire Fulford, business owner, security professional and passionate supporter of diversity.
People talk
about wanting diversity but not everyone defines it the same way. When I resigned from my role in Hong Kong
last year, I contacted recruiters in Australia.
Many told me that my 3+ years of Asian experience meant nothing in
Australia and that if I wasn’t technical I was going to struggle to get
work. The fact that I was a woman
“helped” but I was going to have to “take a lower role to get some Australian
experience”. I was returning to a country that prided itself on its commitment
to diversity and yet I was told I needed to be like everyone else in order to
secure a senior role. Fortunately for
me, it was my network that brought the right role to my attention.
I’ve never
really been one for the whole diversity thing. I’m more about the right person
for the right job…no matter the gender, age, race, religion or preference for
Beatles or Elvis (for the record…I'm a Beatles fan).
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| Beatles or Elvis? Diversity! (Ímage owner unknown) |
People are people and it’s unfortunate that we are at a place in our history where we require quotas to
make sure there’s enough ‘diversity’ in decision making roles (and will
continue to be in the future). And let’s
be honest, when most businesses say they are looking for diversity…they really
mean women. Which is a shame given how ‘diverse’ diversity can be when you put
your mind to it.
After recently working on an article for CSO Online with Micah
and Iresha from AWSN, I felt aligned with the
interviewees whose responses reflected more than one definition for diversity. There’s diverse culture, diverse career
backgrounds, diverse thinking, diverse work locations and diverse values – all
of these things and more make for a better equipped workforce.
With the
current state of the information security industry, its challenging to find
roles that fit our vast, varied and diverse experience. If you need some support to get into the
industry or to find your next role to stay in the industry (because this
is proving to be just a big a challenge as entry), support can be found here at
AWSN. Establishing your strengths,
deciding where you want to be and who you might need to meet to get you there
can make the world of difference. Come
along to our lunches, reach out at conferences and connect with other AWSN
members to find coaches, mentors and more.
We look forward to meeting you…male, female, senior, junior, Elvis or
Beatles… everyone is welcome.
This post has been created by A Turner on behalf of AWSN.
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| (c) AWSN 2016 |
