Mark it in the calendar: September 1 is International Women in Cyber Day. And this year, the message coming out of the industry isn’t a quiet pat on the back – it’s a challenge.
Cybersecurity has a reputation problem. It’s one of the most male-dominated corners of tech, and for all the LinkedIn posts and panel discussions about “closing the gender gap,” the numbers barely budge. But scattered across the industry are leaders quietly proving it doesn’t have to be this way. And calling out, loudly, why it still is.
One of them is Lindsay Keating, Executive Vice President and General Manager APAC at Pax8. Ahead of this year’s Women in Cyber Day, she didn’t hold back.
The wins are real
Credit where it’s due. The industry is shifting.
“The cyber and technology industries are making significant strides in recognising and acting on the benefits of diversifying our workforces,” Keating says. “I’m proud to lead a team that has strong gender diversity across all departments and levels of the organisation in region, including our leadership team.”
That’s not a token hire here or a diversity slide in a pitch deck. That’s balance built into a team from the ground up to the leadership table. It’s rare. And Keating knows exactly how rare.
“Unfortunately, we’re still an outlier in the sector, though, and there continues to be huge opportunities overlooked every day.”
The double standards haven’t gone anywhere
Here’s where it gets real. Because for every step forward, there’s an old, tired bias still lurking in meeting rooms. Hust dressed up a little more politely.
“One of the ongoing issues is the persistence of severely outdated gender stereotypes,” Keating explains. “We’re still regularly hearing women who speak their mind and have a straightforward approach being labelled as aggressive or difficult to work with. Other times we hear there are ‘too many’ women in certain teamse. Eevn if those teams have barely reached a 50/50 split in gender balance.”
Read that again. A team hits actual parity – 50/50 – and somehow that gets read as “too many women.” A woman speaks with confidence and clarity, and it gets filed under “difficult.” This isn’t ancient history. This is happening in offices right now.
“At times, it can be almost unbelievable that these harmful, regressive conversations are still being had in 2026, but they are. And we need to continue speaking up to ensure the progress being made by some organisations rapidly expands to becoming the industry-wide norm.”
One day, but not just for one day
International Women in Cyber Day isn’t about a nice graphic and a hashtag. It’s a checkpoint. And, a moment to ask whether the industry is actually changing, or just getting better at talking about change.
Keating’s take is a call to action dressed up as commentary. Stop tolerating the double standards, stop letting biased comments slide, and stop treating gender balance like a nice-to-have instead of a business fundamental. The teams doing it well – like the one she leads at Pax8 – are proof it’s not some far-off ideal. It’s achievable now.
The bottom line
This September 1, the ask is simple: don’t just celebrate the women already breaking through – back the ones still fighting outdated stereotypes to get a seat at the table. Say something when the double standards show up. Push until the exception becomes the norm.
