The Global Cybersecurity Forum has launched the Women in Cyber Awards, backed by the ITU and UN Women, to recognise organisations driving women’s participation and leadership across the cybersecurity sector. The initiative targets a structural talent gap: women make up just 24% of the global cybersecurity workforce despite a worldwide shortfall of 2.8 million professionals.
- The 2026 edition opens with the "Women’s Cyber Empowerment Champion" category, recognising public and private sector organisations, academia, and non-profits for measurable progress over the past two years.
- Four award tracks: Pipeline Builder (early talent development), Advocacy Champion (visibility), Workforce Enablement Retention (upskilling and middle management), and Leadership and Entrepreneurship (executive growth and women-led ventures).
- Winners will be announced at the GCF Annual Meeting 2026, held at The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh on October 7 to 8.
- The awards sit under the Women Empowerment in Cybersecurity initiative, instated by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and implemented by GCF.
- Applications and nominations open on the GCF website in due course.
Africa’s cybersecurity talent gap mirrors and often exceeds the global picture. The continent is scaling digital infrastructure at speed across fintech, telecoms, and e-government, but the pipeline of skilled cybersecurity professionals, particularly women, remains thin. Recognition frameworks like the Women in Cyber Awards create incentives for African institutions, corporates, and governments to formalise and fund women’s progression in the sector, and to benchmark their efforts against global peers.
Bigger Picture: With Africa producing millions of university graduates annually and female enrolment in STEM rising across Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt, the continent has the raw talent base to close the cybersecurity gender gap faster than mature markets. The question is whether African employers and institutions will build the structured pathways that awards like this are designed to incentivise. For African CEOs, the talent imperative is direct: a more diverse cybersecurity workforce means a more resilient organisation.
Source: TechReview Africa
