24 July 2025 | Prof Vladlena Benson and Dr Laura Di Chiacchio , Aston Centre for Cyber Security Innovation

Despite growing awareness and targeted initiatives, women remain vastly underrepresented in the cybersecurity workforce. While numerous reports have pointed to the gender gap and skills shortages, the conversation often defaults to technical training and pipeline solutions. However, emerging research suggests the issue is deeper and the solutions more nuanced.

A 2025 study by Benson, Di Chiacchio, and Frączek, published in the Journal of Computer Information Systems, brings new clarity to this issue by exploring the career journeys of successful European women in cybersecurity. The findings reveal something both intuitive and under-acknowledged: soft skills not just technical prowess are critical for success, especially for women navigating a male-dominated field.

Reframing Success in Cybersecurity: The Role of Soft Skills

The study focuses on women who have not only entered but thrived in cybersecurity women who have attained industry recognition, advanced professionally, contributed meaningfully to the field, and managed the demanding balance between career and personal life.

Through in-depth qualitative interviews, the researchers identified a set of key soft skills that repeatedly surfaced across these success stories: adaptability, communication, emotional intelligence, leadership, problem-solving, and resilience. These skills, the study argues, are not just supplementary to technical expertise they are central to professional effectiveness in roles that require rapid decision-making, cross-functional collaboration, risk communication, and user-centered security design.

One participant noted, “Technical skills got me in the door, but it was negotiation, communication, and empathy that allowed me to lead and stay in the room.” Another recounted how the ability to translate complex technical risks to non-technical stakeholders was pivotal to earning trust at the board level an increasingly vital requirement in today’s regulatory and threat landscape.

The Gendered Dimension of Soft Skills

Importantly, Benson et al. (2025) challenge the implicit bias in many cybersecurity skills frameworks, which tend to privilege technical certifications and linear expertise over interpersonal and leadership capabilities. This undervaluing of soft skills not only disadvantages professionals broadly it disproportionately affects women, whose strengths often align with these neglected competencies.

The study highlights how soft skills have helped women navigate gendered barriers such as biased assumptions, limited mentorship, and isolation in male-dominated teams. These skills were not just career enhancers but often career enablers, helping women build alliances, defuse conflict, and advocate for inclusion in technical discussions.

Despite their critical role, these competencies are rarely emphasised in career guidance or development programmes. This is a missed opportunity. As the study points out, women often enter the field through non-traditional pathways with backgrounds in social sciences, business, or humanities and bring with them precisely the skills that are most in demand for modern cyber teams: communication, critical thinking, and multidisciplinary agility.

Work-Life Balance and Career Sustainability

The research also underscores the role of soft skills in navigating work-life integration a challenge reported by many participants. The cybersecurity industry is known for its long hours and high-pressure environments. For women, especially those with caregiving responsibilities, this can create acute stress.

Interviewees stressed the importance of emotional regulation, prioritisation, and boundary-setting, all soft skills, in avoiding burnout and sustaining long-term careers. These findings reinforce the need for flexible work structures, but also highlight the human skills needed to manage competing demands.

Policy and Industry Recommendations

Benson et al. (2025) conclude with recommendations that should inform policy, education, and practice:

Integrate soft skills into cybersecurity training from early education through to continuous professional development.
Redesign career guidance to acknowledge the wide array of roles in cybersecurity not just deeply technical positions, but also those requiring policy, communication, and strategic oversight.
Develop mentorship and sponsorship programmes that support women in building confidence and leadership capabilities.
Shift hiring and promotion frameworks to value holistic skill sets, moving beyond narrow certification-driven metrics.
Create inclusive workplace cultures where emotional intelligence and collaboration are recognised as core strengths, not gendered afterthoughts.

A New Model of Cybersecurity Leadership

This study affirms what many practitioners already know: modern cybersecurity challenges require multidimensional professionals who can think beyond the keyboard. Women have long contributed these competencies often under greater scrutiny and with fewer formal rewards.

To truly bridge the cybersecurity skills gap and build resilient, diverse teams, the industry must move beyond the technical checklist. It must recognise, cultivate, and celebrate the full spectrum of skills especially those that have helped women not only survive but lead in this field.

Soft skills are not “nice to have.” As the careers of the women in this study show, they are mission critical.

Reference:

Benson, V., Di Chiacchio, L., & Frączek, B. (2025). Why Soft Skills Matter for Women in Cybersecurity. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 1–14. Taylor & Francis