Diversity in IT security: not just a canine issue

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an April Fool’s post: “Changing the demographic in IT security: a radical proposal“.  It was “guest-written” by my dog, Sherlock, and suggested that dogs would make a good demographic from which to recruit IT professionals.  It went down quite well, and I had a good spike of hits, which was nice, but I wish that it hadn’t been necessary, or resonated so obviously with where we really are in the industry*.

Of special interest to me is the representation of women within IT security, and particularly within technical roles.  This is largely due to the fact that I have two daughters of school age**, and although I wouldn’t want to force them into a technical career, I want to be absolutely sure that they have as much chance both to try it – and then to succeed – as anybody else does, regardless of their gender.

But I think we should feel that other issues of under-representation should be of equal concern.  Professionals from ethnic minorities and with disabilities are also under-represented within IT security, and this is, without a doubt, a Bad Thing[tm].  I suspect that the same goes for people in the LGBTQ+ demographics.  From my perspective, diversity is something which is an unalloyed good within pretty much any organisation.  Different viewpoints don’t just allow us to reflect what our customers see and do, but also bring different perspectives to anything from perimeter defence to user stories, from UX to threading models.  Companies and organisations are just more flexible – and therefore more resilient – if they represent a wide ranging set of perspectives and views.  Not only because they’re more likely to be able to react positively if they come under criticism, but because they are less likely to succumb to groupthink and the “yes-men”*** mentality.

Part of the problem is that we hire ourselves.  I’m a white male in a straight marriage with a Western university education and a nuclear family.  I’ve got all of the privilege starting right there, and it’s really, really easy to find people like me to work with, and to hire, and to trust in business relationships.  And I know that I sometimes get annoyed with people who approach things differently to me, whose viewpoint leads them to consider alternative solutions or ideas.  And whether there’s a disproportionate percentage of annoyances associated with people who come from a different background to me, or that I’m just less likely to notice such annoyances when they come from someone who shares my background, there’s a real danger of prejudice kicking in and privilege – my privilege – taking over.

So, what can we do?  Here are some ideas:

• Go out of our way to read, listen to and engage with people from different backgrounds to our own, particularly if we disagree with them, and particularly if they’re in our industry
• Make a point of including the views of non-majority members of teams and groups in which you participate
• Mentor and encourage those from disparate backgrounds in their careers
• Consider positive discrimination – this is tricky, particularly with legal requirements in some contexts, but it’s worth considering, if only to recognise what a difference it might make.
• Encourage our companies to engage in affirmative groups and events
• Encourage our companies only to sponsor events with positive policies on harassment, speaker and panel selection, etc.
• Consider refusing to speak on industry panels made up of people who are all in our demographic****
• Interview out-liers
• Practice “blind CV” selection

These are my views. The views of someone with privilege.  I’m sure they’re not all right.  I’m sure they’re not all applicable to everybody’s situation.  I’m aware that there’s a danger of my misappropriating a fight which is not mine, and of the dangers of intersectionality.

But if I can’t stand up from my position of privilege***** and say something, then who can?

*Or, let’s face it, society.

**I’m also married to a very strong proponent of equal rights and feminism.  It’s not so much that it rubbed off on me, but that I’m pretty sure she’d have little to do with me if I didn’t feel the same way.

***And I do mean “men” here, yes.

****My wife challenged me to put this in.  Because I don’t do it, and I should.

*****“People won’t listen to you or take you seriously unless you’re an old****** white man, and since I’m an old white man I’m going to use that to help the people who need it.” —Patrick Stewart, Actor

******Although I’m not old.*******

*******Whatever my daughters may say.

Author: Mike Bursell

Long-time Open Source and Linux bod, distributed systems security, etc.. CEO of Profian. マイク・バーゼル： オープンソースとLinuxに長く従事。他にも分散セキュリティシステムなども手がける。現在Profianのチーフセキュリティアーキテクト View all posts by Mike Bursell