Every year, Women’s Equality Day gives us a moment to pause – not just to celebrate progress, but to ask what real equality actually looks like in practice. In the tech industry, where women remain underrepresented in leadership, cybersecurity, and engineering roles, that question carries particular weight.
We asked women leading some of the most influential companies in tech and cybersecurity to share what this day means to them. Their answers ranged from deeply personal reflections on motherhood and mentorship, to sharp calls for organizations to move past performative inclusion and start handing women real ownership. Here’s what they had to say.
“Play it well and create the proof points for those around us.”
Susan Odle, CEO of StorMagic
“I think my role as a woman and visible minority is just to show up, do the work, produce the results and create the reference point for women in business. Other women are activists, that is their role. It’s not mine. Women need to be true to themselves in their narrative supporting women, it’s the only way to sustain it over a career. You’ll exhaust yourself if you put on a skin that is false to who you are. We all have roles to play. Play it well and create the proof points for those around us.”
“Think of one woman who deserves more than they are currently getting.”
Leanne Taylor, CEO, Syspro
“Women’s Equality Day gives us a useful opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come, where progress is real and where there is still work to do. Equality should not be something we discuss only on designated days, nor should it define any one leader’s agenda.
I’ve worked in enterprise technology for more than 25 years, and for much of that time I was one of very few women at the tables where decisions were made. The things that made the greatest difference were people who backed me, said my name when I was not in the room and sponsored me for opportunities because they knew I was talented, capable and driven.
Now I look for people, especially women, who are doing great work but are not receiving enough credit for it, and I try to change that by putting their names forward and encouraging them to consider bigger roles. It has to be intentional because it will not happen by accident. On Women’s Equality Day, I encourage everyone to think of one woman who deserves more than they are currently getting and do something about it this week.”
“Mum is still mum.”
Mena Coticelli, Account Director at Theorem
“Women’s Equality Day makes me think about what equality actually looks like in everyday life. I joke that before my professional day even begins, I have already clocked into my first job as a mum, and when work wraps up, I clock right back in. At any given moment, someone is counting on me to make breakfast, build a thoughtful strategy, give advice, show empathy, or simply be present. Even in a home where my husband and I truly share the labour, mum is still mum. Women really do it all, but so much of that work remains invisible.
My mum left the workforce after having children, and she always told me that if she had been offered the kind of flexibility I have today, she might not have left. That has always stayed with me. In my professional life, I have seen what trust, empathy, and real flexibility can make possible for women with full lives outside of work. To me, equality means creating workplaces where women do not have to choose between their careers and the people they love, and where they have not only a seat at the table, but the opportunity to lead from the head of it.”
“Stop waiting for perfect.”
Lata Bavisi, President, EC-Council University
“When I think about Women’s Equality Day, I think about the moment before a woman raises her hand. Quite honestly, as women, we can be very hard on ourselves. We tell ourselves we need every qualification and every answer. I like to call it the ‘perfection syndrome’.
I know that feeling from my own career. Moving from law into education meant unlearning old habits and relearning an entirely new field. It meant taking risks. Those risks led me to work that transforms lives, and they taught me how much confidence matters.
Careers today are longer and less linear. Women may pause, return, change professions or begin a new chapter at 40, 50 or beyond. That is not starting over. Women carry valuable experience and judgment into every new chapter. Equality must therefore include access to lifelong learning, so women can remain employable and continue evolving at every stage of life.
Organisations need to create an environment of equal opportunity. Who gets encouraged? Who is trusted with responsibility? Those decisions matter even more as AI changes cybersecurity and new roles emerge. Education transfers knowledge, and it can transfer confidence too.
Employers and educators must recognise transferable skills and create flexible pathways into emerging careers. Cybersecurity needs technologists, but it also needs people who understand law, ethics, education, business, governance and human behavior.
Many women bring an eye for detail that serves cybersecurity very well, because a missed detail can create an environment of compromise. My message to women considering this field is to stop waiting for perfect. Your biggest accessory is going to be your confidence. Take the opportunity and keep learning. A different background can be a strength.”
“Now go build something.”
Marsha Espinosa, Chief Strategy Officer at Securin
“I’ve sat in enough meetings to know the difference between a room that includes women and a room where women’s decisions actually stick.
I’ve worked in fields where I’m often the only woman at the table. But I’ve also had the privilege of working for women leaders like U.S. Rep. Linda Sánchez, the late Senator Feinstein, and Kristie Canegallo. I think they’d all tell you the same thing: instead of just celebrating the women on the team, look at who’s actually running the roadmap, the budget, the breach response.
For anyone who needs to hear it: less ‘prove you belong here.’ More ‘obviously you belong here – now go build something.'”
“Trust people with consequential work.”
Boryana Borisova, VP of Product at C3
“Some of the most important opportunities in my career came from being trusted with difficult problems and given the ownership to solve them. My own CMMC journey started with what seemed like a research assignment, but it quickly became much more. I had to understand the requirements, bring the right people across the business into the work, and carry it from research and strategy through implementation and day-to-day operations. That experience allowed me to develop real expertise because I was given both responsibility and the authority to act.
For women in technology, equality means having access to those same opportunities. Give women meaningful problems to solve, room to make decisions, and accountability for the outcome. Then recognise them for the expertise and results they build along the way. That has to be part of an organization’s culture, not something reserved for a particular initiative or moment. I have always believed that your work should speak for itself, and leaders play an important role in creating the conditions for great work to happen. Trust people with consequential work, support them when it gets difficult, and make sure both the results and the people responsible for them are visible. When organizations do that consistently, they build stronger teams, stronger products, and more leaders.”
“Give yourself permission to learn as you go.”
Nicole Colehamer, Head of Global Solutions Architecture at Vonage
“Women’s Equality Day is a reminder of how important it is to help more women and girls see that a future in STEM is possible. That starts with showing that there is no single path into technology, and no one type of person who can be successful.
Some of the qualities that make people successful in technical careers are curiosity, creativity, communication, and a willingness to keep learning. We need to help women recognise that the skills and perspectives they already have can be valuable in STEM, even if they haven’t always pictured themselves in this type of role.
Those of us already working in technology have a role to play. We can mentor women, share our stories, and encourage them to pursue opportunities, and help make technical careers feel more inclusive. Sometimes a simple vote of confidence can make a meaningful difference – especially for someone questioning whether they belong.
The more women see other women solving complex problems, building technology, and leading technical teams, the easier it becomes to imagine themselves doing the same. My message to women considering STEM: stay curious, ask questions, and give yourself permission to learn as you go. You don’t need to have every answer before you begin.”
“That seat is for me.”
Stacy Leidwinger, CMO at HackerOne
“Women’s Equality Day makes me think about the many roles women play as leaders, colleagues, mothers, builders and how we carry all of that into the work we do.
I’ve been in tech my entire career. I studied computer science, spent years at the intersection of engineering and customers, and learned early that the moments that actually moved my career weren’t about raising my hand to do more. They were about raising my hand for the right work. The problems that were genuinely hard. The ones where a clear answer would change something, shift momentum, move a business forward. Recognising that difference, knowing which moments are worth stepping into, is something I wish I’d had someone name for me earlier.
Currently at HackerOne, I’m fortunate to be one of many women amongst women to learn from and encourage to make their mark – from our CEO to our product leaders, to our community ambassadors.
Mentorship for me is about being honest with people. Not every path looks the same. Women can drive the business from deeply technical roles, marketing, product, or the helm of an organisation. What’s empowering is having options and choosing the path that best aligns with your ambitions, needs, and what energises you, rather than becoming who someone else thinks you should be.
The progress I’ve seen in tech reminds me of security work. Constant, not linear. The pace is the point. New problems surface, new skills get built, and the people willing to stay in that motion are the ones who end up leading change.
We need more women to see what is actually open to them. Equality is not just about access. It is about making sure women can look at what’s in front of them and know: that seat is for me.”
“There is more than one path to success.”
Ilona Cohen, Chief Legal and Policy Officer, HackerOne
“As I reflect on Women’s Equality Day, I find myself thinking about my own path to cybersecurity. It did not start in a server room or a computer science program, but in politics, law, and government. It was anything but traditional, and none of it was planned that way. But I learned something in every role that the next one needed, and I wouldn’t trade a single detour for anything.
I share that because I want every woman early in her career to know that there is more than one path to success. Yours will be your own, and the things that make it different from everyone else’s aren’t liabilities – they’re your greatest asset. The perspective, personality, and energy you bring to work every day is what makes teams better, decisions sharper, and organisations more resilient.
With that in mind, here’s what I’ve learned along the way that I wish someone had told me when I was early in my career.
Don’t wait until you’ve checked every box before saying yes to the next opportunity. Too many people hold back until they feel perfectly ready, when the truth is that readiness is something you build on the job, not before it. Say yes anyway, seek growth, welcome the challenge, and when you get there, surround yourself with people whose strengths complement yours and make up for your weaknesses. That’s not a sign of limitation – it’s how the best teams are built.
Ask questions, and make it a habit. Too often we stay quiet because we assume we’re the only one in the room who doesn’t understand something, when in reality, asking a question brings clarity to everyone. It sharpens the thinking of the people around you and signals confidence rather than weakness. It’s how I figured things out at every step of my career, and it never stopped working.
And when things go wrong – because they will – find a way to bounce back. There will be setbacks in your day-to-day work, moments where you feel you let people down, and challenges that feel bigger than you’re equipped to handle. All of it will be hard, but none of it will be permanent. Cybersecurity, of all industries, teaches you that resilience isn’t optional – it’s the job. Use that same mindset on yourself.
To every woman building a career in this field: the industry needs your voice, your perspective, and your willingness to show up as exactly who you are. That’s not just good for you, it makes all of us stronger.”
Celebrating all women
Nine women, nine very different careers – law, engineering, cybersecurity, product, communications – and yet the same thread runs through every single quote: equality isn’t a slogan you trot out once a year. It’s sponsorship that happens when you’re not in the room. It’s being trusted with the hard, consequential work instead of just the visible work. And, it’s giving yourself, and each other, permission to not have every answer before you begin.
This Women’s Equality Day, maybe the most useful thing any of us can do is exactly what Leanne Taylor suggested: think of one woman who deserves more credit than she’s currently getting, and go do something about it.
