英国网络安全行业中，自我认同为女性的从业者比例已降至16%，为2021年以来的最低水平。长期以来，性别多样性一直是科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）领域普遍面临的问题，而在网络安全领域，这一问题在高 级领导层和教育层面尤为突出。尽管英国学校的数据表明，女生只要选修STEM相关科目，其成绩往往优于男生，情况仍然如此。
The proportion of workers in the UK cybersecurity industry identifying as women has dropped to 16 percent, the lowest level since 2021. Gender diversity has long been an issue pervading the STEM fields, although in cybersecurity this is especially pronounced, both at senior leadership and education levels. This is despite evidence that girls regularly outperform boys in STEM subjects at UK schools when they do participate.
修读网络安全课程的女性学生不仅仍少于选择计算机科学的学生，拥有6年以上工作经验的资深从业者中，女性占比也进一步降至12%——这一数字自有记录以来总体保持稳定。作为参照，英国所有行业中女性从业者的平均占比为48%。根据去年的数据，数字行业女性的平均占比为30%。英国政府采访了网络安全行业的各类利益相关方，发现阻碍女性进入高级领导层的是结构性因素——雇主有意在更高层级排斥女性。
Not only are there still fewer women students in cybersecurity courses than those opting for computer science, but the percentage of women in the senior workforce (6+ years of experience) drops further to 12 percent – a figure that has remained broadly consistent since records began. For context, the UK average across all industries for female-identifying workers is 48 percent. Across the digital workforce, as of last year’s data, the average is 30 percent.
历史因素也起着一定作用——一些年长负责人是在性别多样性尚未像今天这样受到重视的年代进入这些职位，并一直留任至今；但招聘人员表示，雇主仍会根据对女性家庭抱负的固有判断，限制她们的职业发展。一名招聘顾问在报告中表示：“当我问一家企业，‘你们为什么不招聘更多元化的员工队伍？’得到的往往仍是那些常见的回答：‘如果招一名女性，她会怀孕，然后会离开12个月。’这种说法并不合理。”
基于对未来怀孕的臆测或恐惧而拒绝聘用女性，属于非法的性别歧视，直接违反英国《2010年平等法》。
The UK government interviewed various stakeholders in the cyber industry, finding that the barriers to senior leadership positions were structural – employers are purposely excluding women at higher levels.
阻碍女性晋升至高级职位的其他常见障碍包括：人们假设她们不具备该职位所需的技术技能，以及网络安全领域仍被视为“男性专属的圈子”。报告指出：“这与一项更广泛的发现相吻合，即关于女性对网络安全不感兴趣刻板印象依然存在。”一家网络安全公司提到，在一次网络安全职业讲座上，一群女孩中途离场，而负责职业指导的老师进一步强化了该行业对女性缺乏吸引力的看法。
History plays a part too – older heads remaining in their positions from back when gender diversity was a matter less discussed – but recruiters say employers are still holding women back based on their perceived family ambitions.
该企业向政府表示：“我问负责职业指导的老师，‘那五个离开的女孩是怎么回事？’她回答说：‘哦，网络安全真的不是女孩该干的工作。’”英国科技协会（techUK）网络韧性主管吉尔·布鲁姆（Jill Broom）表示，雇主有责任付出更多努力，以打破关于女性在网络安全领域存在的根深蒂固的刻板印象。她告诉《泰晤士报》：“网络安全支撑着我们的增长、经济以及社会安全，该行业提供了不断扩大的就业机会和职业前景。然而，女性在该行业中的代表性不足仍是一个令人严重担忧的问题。性别多样性不足不仅限制了女性从这一快速增长行业中受益的机会，还可能缩小应对日益复杂的网络威胁所必需的观点和想法的范围。教育工作者和雇主必须共同努力，挑战刻板印象，消除障碍，并推广网络安全作为一条可及且包容的职业路径。”
One recruitment agent was quoted in the report as saying: “When I’ve spoken to a business and said to them ‘why don’t you hire a more diverse workforce?’ You’ll get the normal common ones of ‘well if we hire a female, she’ll get pregnant, she’ll be off for 12 months,’ which isn’t right.”
其他群体的代表性状况相对较好。过去一年，网络安全行业中神经多样性（neurodivergent）员工人数创下新纪录，英国22%的员工自认为具有神经多样性特征。这一数字较前一年的16%大幅上升，且自2020年报告的9%以来，该比例每年都在持续稳定增长，并超过了数字行业19%的平均水平。
Refusing to hire women based on assumptions or fears about future pregnancy is a form of illegal gender discrimination that directly violates the UK's Equality Act 2010. Other common barriers to senior positions include assumptions they did not have the requisite technical skills for the role, and that cybersecurity is still seen as “an old boys’ club.”
“网络安全是我所见过的神经多样性程度最高的行业，我认为在行业内部，这一点尤其受到推崇，”一位来自小型网络安全企业的受访者在报告中对作者表示。虽然今年的结果可能特别受到神经多样性群体的欢迎，但报告指出，这可能反映了雇主对神经多样性意识的提高，而非人数上的真正增长。少数族裔的占比仍保持在19%，与2025年的数据比例相同，尽管这比2024年的13%有了小幅增长。
“This tied into a broader finding that stereotypes about women not being interested in cybersecurity continued to persist,” the report noted.
这一数字与数字行业20%的平均水平持平，并超过了英国全行业16%的平均水平。然而，这些群体在高层职位中的代表性却不尽如人意。少数族裔在高层职位中的比例为9%，这一低位数字已连续三年持续存在，且远低于2021年15%的峰值。至于原因，报告并未给出太多解释。报告称：“尽管定量研究结果表明，高层职位中的族裔多样性仍低于2021年至2023年的研究，但受访者几乎没有提及种族问题，普遍认为这并非一个问题。”
“A cybersecurity firm noted that during a career talk on cybersecurity, a group of girls walked out of the talk, and the careers teacher reinforced the perception that the sector did not appeal to women.”The business told the government: “I went to the careers lady ‘What was the story with the five girls that left?’ And she went ‘Oh, cyber security is not really a girl’s job’.”Jill Broom, head of cyber resilience at techUK, said the onus is on employers to work harder on breaking down the lingering stereotypes about women in cybersecurity.
“最常见的情况是，参与者没有为推动多元背景员工进入网络安全高层职位提供任何具体建议。一些雇主表示，职业发展对所有人开放，且基于个人能力。”对于神经多样性的安全专业人员来说，阻碍他们的并非技术能力，但一些人表示，软技能的缺乏可能会在担任高级职位时对他们造成阻碍。“他们完全有能力胜任领导角色，”一家小型网络安全企业表示，“只是他们可能在处理棘手团队或进行艰难对话时，软技能稍显不足。”
“Cybersecurity underpins our growth, our economy and the safety of our society, with the sector offering growing employment opportunities and career prospects,” she told The.
但说实话，我确实见过一些在领导岗位上表现出色的神经多样性人士。残障人士也持续被排斥在劳动力市场之外，仅占英国职位的9%和高级职位的5%。这一比例不仅低于数字行业15%的平均水平，也远低于英国全行业18%的平均水平。®
“However, the underrepresentation of women in this industry remains a significant concern. “A lack of gender diversity not only limits opportunities for women to benefit from this growing sector but also risks narrowing the range of perspectives and ideas that are essential to tackling increasingly complex cyber threats. Educators and employers must work together to challenge stereotypes, break down barriers and promote cybersecurity as an accessible and inclusive career path.” Representation for other groups fared comparatively better. This past year set a new record for neurodivergent workers in the cybersecurity industry, with 22 percent of UK staff identifying as neurodivergent. The figure represents a sharp increase from 16 percent the year before, one that has grown each year consistently since the 9 percent reported in 2020, and exceeds the digital sector average of 19 percent. “Cybersecurity is the most neurodiverse sector I have ever seen, and I think personally it’s celebrated, especially internally within the sector,” one respondent from a small cybersecurity business told the report's authors. While this year’s results may prove especially welcome to the neurodiverse crowd, the report noted this may reflect the rising awareness of neurodiversity among employers, rather than a true increase in numbers. The representation of ethnic minorities also remained at 19 percent, the same proportion as in 2025’s data, although this was a modest rise from 2024, in which 13 percent were from ethnic minorities. The figure is aligned with the digital sector average of 20 percent, and exceeds the UK’s pan-industry average of 16 percent. However, the representation of these groups suffers at the senior levels. The proportion of ethnic minorities in senior positions stands at 9 percent, a low figure that has persisted for the third year running, and one that is considerably down from the 15 percent high of 2021. As for explanations, the report offered few. “Ethnicity was hardly mentioned and was not generally felt to be an issue, despite the quantitative findings suggesting ethnic diversity at senior levels has remained lower than in the 2021 to 2023 studies,” it stated. “Most commonly, participants did not offer any concrete suggestions for enabling the progression of staff from diverse backgrounds into senior cybersecurity positions. Some employers stated that career development was open to everyone and was based on merit.” For neurodivergent security pros, it was not their technical abilities holding them back, but some said a lack of soft skills may hinder them in senior-role scenarios. “They’re more than capable of doing a leadership role,” said one small cybersecurity business. “It’s just they might not be soft-skilled enough to deal with difficult teams, difficult conversations. But to be honest, I’ve seen some fantastic people who are neurodiverse in leadership roles.” Disabled people are continuously absent from the workforce too, occupying just 9 percent of UK roles and 5 percent of senior positions. This is both less than the digital sector average of 15 percent, and significantly less than the UK’s pan-industry average of 18 percent. ®