International Women's Day focuses on women's issues and rights around the world.
Today, as the world marks International Women's Day, gender equality in the tech industry is once again in the spotlight, with new research highlighting that women are more at risk from cyber threats.
This year's International Women's Day will be held under the theme 'Investing in Women: Accelerating Progress' and will focus on women's issues and rights.
Kaspersky Lab experts conducted an investigation ahead of today's celebrations and discovered websites and phishing pages infected with malware that primarily targeted women. These came in the form of women's community sites, forums with advice articles, and online she stores selling clothing and cosmetics.
The cybersecurity firm said some of the web pages were originally legitimate resources but were later hacked by cybercriminals to spread malware.
This revealed that the threats identified included web skimmers, which are typically embedded in the code of online shops to steal users' payment data.
Additionally, researchers detected several phishing pages masquerading as books about breastfeeding, pregnancy, and nutrition for fertility. To continue reading, victims had to enter personal information and bank card details. Once entered, this information was automatically sent to the attacker, but they were never granted access to the book.
“Websites are vulnerable to mass attacks regardless of who they visit, and of particular concern is that even reputable platforms can be infiltrated and compromised.” said Victoria Vlasova, Malware Analyst Team Leader at Kaspersky Lab.
“As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we must recognize the importance of protecting our online presence. Women often face high risks online, including when installing software or sharing personal information. You need to be careful when doing so.
“This is a reminder to prioritize digital safety and empower each other with trusted cybersecurity measures.”
A 2020 World Economic Forum report found it will take 100 years to close the gender gap.
Gender imbalance in ICT is a global phenomenon, with calls to expose more women to STEM-related subjects every year.
The World Economic Forum's 2020 Global Gender Gap Report reveals that it will take at least another 100 years to close the gender gap around the world.
According to a PwC report, women hold just 19% of technology roles at the world's top 10 technology companies, compared to 81% of men.
Closer to home, statistics show that only 23% of South Carolina's technology jobs are held by women.
As a result, technical training and career acceleration provider ALX called on SA's technology sector to take shared responsibility to address the digital gender gap. Otherwise, we risk leaving a generation of talented young women behind in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The organization believes that with the right combination of digital skills, support and training, women can drive change at the grassroots level and in the boardroom.
“If women are not at the forefront of projects that drive change and innovation, Africa will miss out on half of the continent's socio-economic potential,” says Divesh Souka, GM of ALX South Africa.
“While progress is being made in meeting the demand for digital expertise in emerging economies across the continent, it remains critical to harness the untapped potential of women in technology and close the gender gap. There is a need.”
Anna Corrado, Senior Vice President of Content Strategy and Evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa, encourages women to mentor women, especially young women of color, to create a more inclusive workplace.
Citing recent research, Corrado said women in Africa have less access to internet-based technology and fewer opportunities than men, further limiting their ability to escape poverty.
The study found that lack of education, limited guidance, minimal role models and societal biases had a serious and long-term impact on women's careers and futures, she said. .
Anna Collard, Senior Vice President of Content Strategy and Evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa.
“In commemoration of International Women's Day, let's reflect on the positive impact of mentoring young women in the workplace. It not only fosters her professional development, but also benefits the organization as a whole. I can”.
“Whenever someone achieves success, it's important to remind myself that they didn't do it alone. I think of the people who helped me get to where I am. I remember many of them being male colleagues and bosses.
“I am deeply grateful to them for investing in and believing in me. Without their help and support, I would not have been able to progress in the male-dominated IT industry.
“It is very fitting that this year’s International Women’s Day theme is Investing in Women to Accelerate Progress. Despite this, many countries still marginalize women. At the corporate level, women are just as capable as men to lead companies.”
According to Essie Mokgonyana, SAS Country Manager and SA Sales Director, digital transformation represents both risks and opportunities for women's participation in the workplace around the world.
The risk is that low-skilled and often female-dominated roles, such as office management, customer service, and certain production roles, will be rendered obsolete by process automation, advances in robotics, and the implementation of generative artificial intelligence. It is located in On the other hand, the opportunity lies in economic growth, and a thriving digital economy will create new jobs, Mokkoñana explains.
Essie Mokgonyana, SAS Country Manager and SA Sales Director.
“To ensure that women play a role in driving digitalization and introducing technological advances as they mature and new technologies emerge, young girls and women need education in STEM fields. There needs to be greater emphasis on joint special programs aimed at encouraging people to pursue careers with their children.”
“Internationally, only 30% of women in tertiary education pursue STEM fields. , this underestimation has become even more pronounced.
“Upskilling and reskilling employees for a digital-first, data-driven environment is key to minimizing job losses due to role obsolescence.Digital transformation in many markets As the world's workforce accelerates, challenges related to skills shortages and mismatches are increasing around the world.
“Combined with the remote work trend, it means people with highly sought-after skills have more choice about where they want to live and who they want to work for.
“This further increases the need to retain scarce talent while establishing special programs to upskill and reskill women already in the workforce.”