Women Leading the AI Era in Cybersecurity

The cybersecurity industry is facing a dual challenge unlike any we have seen before. On one side, 67% of organisations report at least a “moderate” talent shortage. Now, alongside this long-standing issue, nearly half of technology leaders admit they lack the AI expertise needed to keep pace with the rapid adoption of new technologies. 

Solving this challenge requires bold leadership that embraces and upskills their teams to leverage AI for efficiency as well as inclusion, mentorship, and innovation. While technology plays a role, it cannot be the sole solution. 

There is a need for proactive leaders who understand the power of AI and recognise where and how it can be deployed to yield the best results. Without decisive action, this shortage will only grow, leaving organisations more vulnerable to threats and less able to capitalise on the transformative potential of AI. 

Women as catalysts for change in cybersecurity leadership  

Women in cyber are shaping AI adoption while creating inclusive, resilient teams. This representation matters, encouraging new talent and showing them what success in the cybersecurity industry looks like, and the route to that success. Opportunities to improve this representation exists internally in organisations, such as through mentoring and reverse mentoring (junior colleagues mentoring those more senior), and externally, inspiring the next generation of cybersecurity leaders through such activities as school fairs and larger platforms such as trade shows. 

When technology is trained to take on repetitive tasks, professionals can devote their time to mentorship, strategy, and innovation areas. 

However, diversity in cybersecurity isn’t just about representation, it’s about perspective. When people from different backgrounds come together, they identify problems others might miss and create innovative solutions that push the industry forward. When women step into leadership roles, they bring fresh approaches to collaboration, problem solving, and resilience.  

How do you adopt AI? 

By looking at some of the practical steps necessary to adopt AI, we can identify specific parts of this journey where women can lead the way in the AI era of cybersecurity. 

Identify the Friction Points 

Leaders must look closely at what their teams’ processes are and where their teams are struggling: endless hours wasted on triaging phishing emails, repetitive manual tasks of compliance reporting, or fatigue from reviewing thousands of alerts. 

Friction is the signal for where AI can step in to help. Women leaders often excel here, because they are not only analysing workflows but also listening deeply to people. They notice where processes break down and where team members feel unseen or overwhelmed. 

Map the Journey 

Once a high-value problem is identified, map the process. Who are the actors? Technicians, users, automation scripts? Where does the process loop, stall, or require rework? 

This type of journey mapping makes invisible work visible. It surfaces the real-world moments where AI could make a difference. And when women lead these sessions, they can introduce practices like reverse mentoring, inviting junior colleagues to highlight the challenges they face daily. That openness creates not only better solutions but stronger, more inclusive teams. 

Integrate and Personalise 

Following a pilot to establish trust, teams can move forward:  tuning AI with internal data, embedding it into workflows, and personalising outputs. For example, a tuned model can flag anomalies in system behaviour before an alert is triggered, or dashboards can adapt based on whether the user is a CISO or a front-line analyst. 

This is where leadership becomes visible. When women guide these efforts, they demonstrate that AI adoption is not about replacing people but about empowering them. Technology, paired with empathy, becomes resilience. 

Build Capability, Not Just Tools 

The organisations capturing the most value from AI are the ones rewiring workflows, reskilling employees, and establishing top-down governance. Women leaders have a powerful role to play here. They can embed AI fluency into training, sponsor mentorship circles where women support one another, and serve as visible role models for the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. 

This powers technology adoption and shapes capability and culture so that teams thrive alongside the systems they build. 

Framing cybersecurity as a rewarding career  

Cybersecurity and AI are often seen through the narrow lens of high stress, constant crises, and relentless firefighting. While those pressures exist, they are only part of the story. At their core, these fields are about solving complex challenges, driving ethical innovation, and shaping the technologies that define our future. By reframing cybersecurity and AI as spaces of creativity, leadership, and purpose, we can shift perceptions, particularly among women who might otherwise be discouraged by outdated stereotypes. Showcasing the power of mentorship, representation, and inclusion highlights not only personal, but also team benefits.  

Inspiring the next generation  

The cybersecurity skills gap will not close on its own. But women leaders can help to close it by showing a path where AI augments talent, inclusion builds resilience, and leadership is both technical and human. The cybersecurity industry cannot wait for change to happen organically. The combination of deep technical expertise, empathy-driven leadership, and the lived experience of navigating underrepresentation makes female leaders powerful agents of change. 

Now is the time for more women in cybersecurity to put in place AI initiatives, and level up their organisations by following the practical AI adoption path.   

With these successes, they can amplify their voices, on conference stages, in boardrooms, through mentorship programs, and in day-to-day team interactions. By sharing insights, championing inclusive practices, and showing what leadership looks like in action, women can create a ripple effect that inspires others to follow. Visibility matters. When aspiring professionals see women at the forefront of AI and cybersecurity innovation, they begin to imagine themselves there, too. 

I’ve seen this first-hand in my own outreach, from teaching at Georgetown to speaking at Women in STEM conferences and leading AI innovation sessions with young girls in education. In one memorable moment, a middle school student asked why AI hasn’t solved hearing challenges. Her personal experience sparked a vision for possibility and a newfound confidence to explore how technology could change lives. These are powerful reminders of what happens when women lead and when the next generation sees themselves reflected in the industry. 

The point is not only to get more women into the field, but to ensure they thrive, with opportunities to innovate, to lead, and to shape how AI transforms cybersecurity.