The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Women in Cyber Mentorship Programme 2023 is now accepting applications. Women in Cyber, the third year of this initiative, seeks to enable women to build skills for improved gender inclusion in cybersecurity, assisting in addressing workforce concerns such as unfilled positions, skills gaps, and retention issues.
Despite the fact that women make up just 24% of the workforce, the WiC initiative aims to make cyberspace safer and enhance trust in ICTs by helping to address the workforce and gender gaps in cybersecurity. The ITU-D Women in Cyber Programme addresses gender and workforce gaps in cybersecurity through trainings (both on soft-skills and technical issues), role-modeling, and mentorship using a focused strategy of Inspire, Train, and Empower.
Programme Structure:
- INSPIRE: Four keynote webinars with featured speakers who are well-known women in cybersecurity showcase their career paths, hence promoting role models and the perception of women as valuable additions to the cybersecurity workforce.
- TRAIN: Five technical and soft skills training courses that provide participants with skills for professional and personal development.
- EMPOWER: Two mentorship circle sessions with a live platform for participants to further explore professional and personal development topics with high-level women in cybersecurity.
Eligibility:
To be eligible to participate in the Women in Cyber Mentorship Programme, interested women must fulfil the following requirements:
- Minimum 2-3 years of junior level experience in the field of cybersecurity or seeking to enter the cybersecurity workforce from another junior level ICT or STEM position.
- The programme will be delivered in English. Participants must have a good working knowledge of English.
- A computer and stable internet connection.
- There are no age restrictions.
Note: The eligibility criteria are not applicable to participants wishing to attend the WiC inspirational keynote Webinars.
Target Audience:
This rollout of the Women in Cyber Mentorship Programme is being offered specifically to women residing in Africa, Arab regions and Asia and the Pacific. By limiting regional participation, the programme aims to provide women with support in their local cybersecurity communities.
- Targeted countries in the Africa region: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
- Targeted countries in the Arab States: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, State of Palestine, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.
- Targeted countries in the Asia and the Pacific: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao P.D.R., Mongolia, Thailand.
Disclaimer: The 2023 edition will only target the aforementioned countries in the Asia and the Pacific region to pilot a more in depth country-based approach that includes additional opportunities for selected participants.
Note: Upon registration through the dedicated link, the WiC inspirational keynote webinars will be open to the general public. However, the trainings and mentorship circles are exclusively for eligible women in the programme.
Application:
- Programme seats are limited.
- The delivery platform for the webinars and training is Zoom.
- Selected participants must register for all three parts of the mentorship programme (i.e. inspirational keynote webinars, trainings, and mentorship circles).
- Selected applicants to the mentorship circles will be contacted by email by the end of May 2023.
