Decoding the gendered imaginary of cybersecurity careers
A social shaping of technology perspective
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20508387 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Meraiah Foley (0000-0003-1368-9049, University of Sydney Business School, corresponding author), Sulagna Basu (0009-0000-7811-7696, The University of Sydney) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 8 |
| Pages | 1425-1441 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-11 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Information Communication & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1369-118X • E-ISSN: 1468-4462 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/1369118x.2024.2391818 |
| OpenAlex | W4401658369 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 31 |
Women account for less than one quarter of the global cybersecurity workforce. Encouraging more women into cybersecurity careers has been identified as one way to address persistent skills shortages in this crucial field. Using expert elicitation, this paper draws on in-depth interviews with 31 senior cybersecurity professionals in Australia to analyse the popular imaginaries that characterise cybersecurity careers. Applying social shaping of technology to examine the causes and effects of women’s low participation in cybersecurity careers, this paper finds that cybersecurity careers are characterised by gendered imaginaries that frame cybersecurity as the exclusive domain of ‘hackers-in-hoodies’, secretive male operators possessed of highly specialised technical knowledge. These imaginaries not only distort the lived reality of cybersecurity work, limiting the popular appeal of cybersecurity careers, they also shape how cybersecurity itself is defined, with gendered effects. This paper calls for a more expansive and inclusive definition of cybersecurity to broaden the appeal of this increasingly interdisciplinary field and ensure gendered consideration of cyber risk
Computer security · Decoding methods · Internet privacy · Media studies · Political science · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · Telecommunications · The Imaginary · Computer Science · Gender and Technology in Education · ICT Impact and Policies · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Artificial Intelligence
Gender and technology in the making
Decoding the Female Exodus From Computing Education
‘I'm Not Interested in Computers’
Tools and Toys
The power of code
Digital Sociology
Why are women underrepresented in Computer Science? Gender differences in stereotypes, self-efficacy, values, and interests and predictors of future CS course-taking and grades
From Women and Technology to Gendered Technoscience
From female computers to male comput♂rs
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Feminist theories of technology
Whose Voices? Whose Knowledge? A Feminist Analysis of the Value of Key Informant Interviews
Ideology and the social imaginary
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |