Association Burkinabè de Fundraising

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) and EQUALS, the ITU co-founded Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age, are jointly organising the Women in Cyber Mentoring Programme to empower women in the cybersecurity sector. The programme engages role models and leaders in the field, and connects them with talented women in Africa, the Arab region and Asia-Pacific.

The Women in Cyber mentoring programme is the result of the CyberDrill 2020 Empowering Women in Cyber security webinar, where the need for role models and mentoring was identified as essential to increasing the number of women leaders in cyber security.

It consists of three parts, featuring monthly mentoring circles with activities including inspirational webinars and technical and soft skills training courses.

Objectives of the Women in Cyber mentoring programme

The Women in Cyber mentoring programme is a three-part initiative integrating guided monthly mentoring circles with support activities, including a series of inspirational webinars and technical and soft skills training courses. INSPIRE, EDUCATE, EMPOWER

• INSPIRE: Changing mindsets and tackling systemic barriers to wider inclusion

  • Promoting the perception of women not as a group with special needs, but as valuable additions to the cyber security workforce, through inspirational webinars.

• TRAIN: Encouraging women to take on leadership roles in cybersecurity

  • Providing expert training courses taught by leaders in the field and equipping women not only with technical skills, but also with the general skills needed for successful professional development.

• EMPOWER: Promoting knowledge sharing on best practice in cyber security career development

  • To provide a platform where women in senior positions can mentor and foster the professional and personal growth of women at junior levels.

Target audience Women in Cyber mentoring programme

This roll-out of the Women in Cyber mentoring programme is being offered specifically to women living in Africa, the Arab regions and Asia-Pacific. By limiting regional participation, the programme aims to provide support to women in their local cyber security communities.

Africa: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, 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 Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

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.

Asia-Pacific : Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, Lao People's Republic, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Viet Nam.

Note: When registering via the dedicated link, the WiC Inspirational Keynote webinars were open to the general public. The training courses and mentoring circles were open exclusively to women eligible for the programme.

Eligibility criteria for the Women in Cyber mentoring programme

To be eligible for the mentoring programme for women in cybersecurity, interested women must have :

• For mentees: Minimum of 2-3 years' junior level experience in cyber security, or looking to enter the cyber security workforce from another junior level ICT / STEM role.
• For mentors: extensive proven experience in the field of cybersecurity, preferably in leadership and management positions in the public, private, academic and civil society sectors.
• The programme will be taught in English. Participants should have a good working knowledge of English.
• A computer and a stable Internet connection.
• There are no age restrictions.

Note: The eligibility criteria do not apply to participants who wish to attend the WiC Inspirational Keynote webinars.

For more information, please visit mentoring programme.