Hofstra WiCyS members at the WiCyS ’19 Conference. From left to right: Top: Kelly Rose (Internal Outreach Chair), Kestrel Bridges (Vice President), Kaitlin Parente (External Outreach Chair), Barbara Marquez (Member). Bottom Row: Shelby Mitchell (Secretary), Edden Kashi (President).
Photo Courtesy of Leah DeHaemer
In an ever-growing world of technological innovation, protecting one’s data online has become increasingly important. Out of this need for safety online, a vital job has arisen: cybersecurity.
Despite the modern problems cybersecurity tackles as a field, it struggles to represent the modern workforce. Just like other jobs within science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), women are greatly underrepresented in cybersecurity. National organizations such as Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) are looking to change that.
Two years ago, several Hofstra students attended the 2018 Women in Cybersecurity Conference. This sparked an interest in creating a WiCyS student chapter at Hofstra. However, a visit to the 2019 WiCyS conference made them even more driven to take action. Over the summer of 2019, Edden Kashi began plans to establish a Hofstra chapter.
“I decided over the summer to kind of catapult this club and make it something bigger on campus for all the students,” said Kashi, a senior computer science major who is now president of the Hofstra University WiCyS. “It was my last year, and I kind of felt like there needed to be something done before I left to help all of the girls in the department.”
Hofstra’s WiCyS chapter, which now boasts about 36 regular members, strives to foster a more welcoming environment within the computer science and cybersecurity departments, as well as empower women in cybersecurity and in STEM.
“It’s kind of hard to meet women in the department just because there’s just not a lot in the department. So it’s really nice to have a place where all of us can get together and just talk and feel comfortable,” said Kaitlin Parente, a senior computer science and mathematics major who serves as external outreach chair for the Hofstra WiCyS.
A predominant issue regarding the study of cybersecurity at Hofstra is the retention rate of women from year to year – a problem which mirrors the workforce within the technology industry. Part of this problem, Hofstra WiCyS hypothesizes, is due to intimidation. Female cybersecurity students at Hofstra often find that they are the only woman in a classroom, which can potentially make them feel uncomfortable and unsure about voicing their questions and opinions. Hofstra WiCyS works to create an environment where these women no longer feel alone, allowing them to become more confident about themselves and their chosen major.
“I’m a senior, and for probably like the first two-and-a-half, three years of me going to the department, I really didn’t have any female friends within the department,” said Shelby Mitchell, a computer science and cybersecurity major and the secretary of the club. “[While being the only woman in a classroom is] not necessarily too terribly awkward or really bad, you definitely feel it and you know you want at least one other person there with you.” WiCyS has become an incredible community for Mitchell to meet a network of women within the department.
In order to promote women in STEM and cybersecurity, Hofstra WiCyS hosts a variety of guest speakers, workshops and professional development days. The club also hosts casual events such as movie nights and hours of code, which helps strengthen a sense of community.
Despite its focus on supporting women in cybersecurity, Hofstra WiCyS is not gender exclusive: About 30% of the club’s members are male. WiCyS’s openness to all gender identities is crucial because it helps to break the ice in the gender divide that is so prominent in the cybersecurity field.
This year, six or seven members of Hofstra WiCyS will be returning to the Women in Cybersecurity Conference. Kashi is even presenting her own work on privacy applications for web and mobile devices at the convention this year. Hofstra WiCyS hopes more members will attend the conference in the future.
Kashi is still the only woman in her network security class. She believes that WiCyS’s presence on campus will be a good thing for the department and the school as a whole and hopes to foster confident students who are not afraid to ask questions in class and express themselves.
“It’s okay to feel intimidated,” Kashi said. “But you don’t have to.”
Hofstra WiCyS posts important information and club updates both on their Instagram @Hofstra_WiCyS,and their website huwicys.github.io.
