Camellia Chan, CEO and co-founder of the Californian cybersecurity company, X-PHY, asks that we stop defining women in cyber by the barriers they face.
Women account for just 17 per cent of the UK cybersecurity workforce, compared to 48 per cent of the wider workforce. At a senior level, that figure falls to 12pc. There is clearly more to do to bring women into the sector and help them progress. However, the way we talk about women in cybersecurity needs to change. Too often, they are asked the same question: what barriers have you faced working in a male-dominated environment?
On days like International Women’s Day or International Women in Cyber Day, I would much rather see women asked what they are building, which decisions have shaped their businesses and what they would tell someone starting now.
Women are already shaping the sector and leading teams – more than 1,000 female-founded cybersecurity companies are now operating globally. We should be raising their profile and talking about how they are successful, while creating more opportunities for those lessons to be passed on through mentoring. To stop making barriers the default lens through which women in cyber are discussed, we need to start recognising how their experience will support future founders and industry leaders.
Building the next generation
In 2025, a record 14,500 girls participated in the CyberFirst Girls Competition, a program designed to build cyber skills and encourage young women to consider careers in the sector. There is clearly appetite from young people to enter this field, and the next generation needs to be nurtured and shown what is already possible. I currently mentor two young female founders working in technology, and the experience has reinforced how different support can look depending on the person and the stage of the business.
One of the founders I work with is technically very strong and extremely passionate about what she is building. Much of my role has been helping her think through the business direction around that technology: which opportunities are worth pursuing and how to approach taking the product to market. The other is still at university and is building an AI company. She comes from a business background, so the support she needs is different. I have been able to help her with technical questions, introduce her to people in my network and talk through some of the strategic choices she is making as the company develops.
Mentoring means owning your past mistakes
Technology is moving incredibly quickly, particularly with the release of new AI models like Astra and Fable 5.1. From my own experience, I know that there is a temptation as a young founder to pursue every promising opportunity, especially when building in a market that is constantly changing around you. However, a stronger path can be to take one core capability and extend it into multiple relevant applications.
I had to learn the discipline of knowing when to start and stop building in my own company, X-PHY, and it is one of the most important lessons I try to pass on. The next generation already has energy and ideas. What they need is access to people who can offer practical guidance and encouragement to keep going.
Make success visible
Representation still matters, and the numbers show how much work remains. In 2025, companies with at least one female founder accounted for a quarter of UK venture capital deals yet received only 15 per cent of total equity investment. The gap is even wider for all-female founding teams, which accounted for just 7.3% of equity deals and 1.9pc of total investment the year before.
Those disparities need attention, but repeating the statistics alone each year will not change them – the women who have already built companies will. Mentoring is one part of that, and another part is making female founders visible for their technical and commercial expertise, rather than only inviting them to speak about being women in technology.
The young women entering cybersecurity do not need to be told repeatedly that the road will be difficult. It is clear. What they need is access to people who will help navigate their journey: role models who challenge ideas and provide insights on how to tackle what’s next.
