Dhriti P. Stocks, Executive Director at the Center for Cyber Safety and Education, tells Sean Martin why the Global 50x50 Initiative follows a career from K to 12 to senior leadership, and how listeners can invest, engage and advocate.
A goal set for 2050 sounds slow. Dhriti P. Stocks says that is the point: quick interventions in cybersecurity careers will not last.
Dhriti P. Stocks, Executive Director at the Center for Cyber Safety and Education, joins Sean Martin at ISC2 Security Congress in Denver. She explains the Global 50x50 Initiative, which aims to put 50% women in cybersecurity by the year 2050, and why it was the first thing she was told when invited to join the mission.
The conversation opens with Stocks's 20 years uplifting women and girls in STEM and her work with populations that have historically faced barriers. She then lays out why the plan covers a full career, from K to 12 to senior leaders, across eight action areas, and why the aim is women who can speak into decisions, lead and advance, not only enter the field. She warns about a leaky bucket, where burnout drives women out at a higher rate.
Stocks and Sean also cover the Center's three focus areas: scholarships, Cybersecurity Health Check for small businesses and nonprofits, and 50x50. She describes how volunteers join, including an advisory council assembled roughly every four months around one action area, and shares the story of a scholarship recipient from Ghana who went on to a CISO role and the Center's board.
Her closing asks are to invest, engage and advocate. For listeners who work in security, it is a practical look at how a long-term workforce goal gets built, and where their own time and expertise can help.
Read the full story on ITSPmagazine: https://www.itspmagazine.com/blog?p=a-2050-goal-for-women-in-cybersecurity-built-slowly-so-it-lasts
Cybersecurity Health Check | https://www.iamcybersafe.org/s/cyberhealthcheck
Center for Cyber Safety and Education Launches Global 50x50 Initiative to Achieve Gender Parity in Cybersecurity by 2050 | https://www.isc2.org/Insights/2025/10/Gender-Parity-in-Cybersecurity
Academic Scholarships - Center for Cyber Safety and Education | https://www.iamcybersafe.org/s/academic-scholarships