Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, announced a new initiative in its long-running effort to close the diversity and talent gap in the technology industry. The company will extend its partnership with Girls in Tech, a global non-profit bringing the world together through education and experiences. Together, the two organizations will address the worldwide skills shortage in cybersecurity by helping to develop a large talent pool of women eager to get their start in the industry.
Although there is a global shortfall of more than four million cybersecurity professionals today, just a quarter (24%) of current roles are estimated to be taken by women. Both organizations, with global reach, are passionate about connecting with more women and gender-diverse talent and helping find them opportunities to advance their careers and secure the future. Girls in Tech, with 60,000 global members, has been dedicated to raising awareness of this skills gap and to overcome the divide for more than ten years and Trend Micro runs global education programs with a focus on helping women develop new skills to fill the open jobs.
“I’ve always been passionate about and dedicated to encouraging greater gender diversity in the industry. It’s why at Trend Micro we’re committed to supporting equal opportunities in the workplace and in 2018 launched our Close the Gap initiative,” said Eva Chen, co-founder and CEO of Trend Micro. “I’m delighted to be teaming with Girls in Tech to further advance our efforts. Especially in light of recent events, I believe we must celebrate and encourage diversity at every turn today. It’s what makes us human.”
As part of this expanded partnership with Girls in Tech, Trend Micro will develop a new Cybersecurity Fundamentals course for the non-profit. Instead of choosing a course that already exists within the program, Trend Micro has called on its world-class security team to build a custom course for Girls in Tech specific to today’s market need. The course, a blend of e-learning, online instructor-led classes and a hands-on lab via Trend Micro Product Cloud, will cover cybersecurity essentials, network security threats, an introduction to malware analysis, and much more.
“Girls in Tech shares with Trend Micro a unified vision for a future in which women are provided the same opportunities to pursue professions in technology as their male counterparts,” said Adriana Gascoigne, founder and CEO of Girls in Tech. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with Trend Micro to positively impact the technology landscape for women today and generations to come.”
Trend Micro and Girls in Tech first worked together on the Close the Gap program at AWS re:Invent 2018 where they brought managing directors from 30 global Girls in Tech chapters together to brainstorm diversity ideas and programs with industry executives.
Registration for the new Cybersecurity Fundamentals course is now open. The virtual course will run from Aug. 31 to Sept. 25 and last four hours per week.
For more information, visit www.trendmicro.com
