Young UJ graduate excels in cybersecurity sector
A YOUNG female graduate from the University of Johannesburg (UJ) making strides in the cybersecurity industry said healthy company cultures and access to skills development and mentorship opportunities could encourage more women to join the male-dominated industry.
Global Customer Success Advocate at cybersecurity firm Mimecast and UJ graduate Ruth Mukole said a supportive culture and opportunity to make a real impact have proved to be the perfect mixture as she makes inroads in the fiercely competitive, highly skilled and male-dominated cybersecurity industry.
Mukole was celebrated by the firm this week in commemoration of International Girls in ICT Day. International Girls in ICT Day, celebrated on April 28, aims to encourage girls and women to pursue education in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) fields and pursue careers in related industries.
“As a young, inexperienced woman starting out in a new career, I thought hard about the kind of place where I’d like to work, a place that would allow me to practise my theoretical knowledge as well as become the best version of who I can be,” she said.
Mukole added that when she joined Mimecast as part of the firm’s one-year graduate programme in 2020, she wasn’t just looking for a job, she was looking for a place where she could receive mentorship and also make a real impact.
She discovered her passion for cybersecurity during her time in the programme.“My time in the graduate programme was hugely fulfilling as I was exposed to real work and could learn directly from my more experienced colleagues as well as apply that knowledge in my own work. And as I developed my own skills, I could also help mentor and guide the newer recruits joining our team,” she said.
Mimecast said that industry figures suggest that fewer than one in four global cybersecurity professionals are women, and the sector remains largely male-dominated.
Mukole said she believes healthy company cultures and access to skills development and mentorship opportunities could encourage more female talent to join the industry and help alleviate the skills shortage.
She said opportunities such as the graduate programme could help unlock South Africa’s huge talent pool and address the shortage of key technical skills facing the country.
“Young people, especially African youth, are blessed with immense talent, but that talent is largely untapped due to circumstances that include social and economic challenges, educational barriers, access to networks, funding and more,” said Mukole.
Mimecast’s vice-president for Africa, Paul Stafford, said by investing in the development of people such as Mukole and drawing on the country’s vast talent pool, the firm had positioned South Africa as a hub for servicing. | @Chulu_M