The reality is that security has historically drawn talent from sectors that already struggle with gender imbalance, particularly STEM disciplines. As a result, the diversity challenge compounds itself over time. The industry recruits from a narrow pool, then wonders why that pool lacks representation.
If we are serious about addressing the talent shortage, we need to make career pathways more visible, showcase role models, and engage future talent much earlier. Because a stronger security industry will not be built by searching harder for the same people. It will be built by opening the door to people who may never have considered security in the first place.
Reading the room across every room
One thing working across multiple geographies has taught me is that the conversation about women in professional leadership is not the same everywhere. It plays out differently in Paris than in Hong Kong, in Lisbon than in Sydney. Cultural context shapes how women present themselves in the workplace, how career progression is defined and discussed, and what entry points into an industry like security actually look like in a given market.
What the workforce gap looks like from here
The security industry has a well- documented talent shortage. But when we talk about the workforce gap, we often overlook one of the largest untapped talent pools available to us: women.
The 2026 Security Megatrends report from the Security Industry Association makes the link clear: the sector cannot position itself as high-value without first attracting a deeper, broader talent pool. The challenge is visible across the markets I support. Finding qualified candidates is difficult. Finding qualified female candidates is harder still. Not because the talent isn't there, but because many women never see security as a career option in the first place.
This is not a problem unique to security, but our industry has been slow to address it. Unlike law or medicine, security rarely presents itself as an obvious destination. Many professionals (myself included) arrive here from adjacent industries such as technology, IT or manufacturing. For women, that pathway is often even less visible. If you don't see people like yourself represented in an industry, it's harder to imagine yourself belonging there.
That is not a problem to be solved with a single global programme. It is a reminder that building a more balanced workforce requires cultural intelligence, not just good intentions. The organisations making progress are the ones that take the time to listen before they act, adapt their approach to local nuance and resist the instinct to export a template.
What holds across every market is the outcome: when women are in the room, they contribute. The conditions that get them there and keep them there will look different depending on where you are.
The seat was always ours
From where I sit now, having worked across many of those markets, the talent gap is not a theoretical problem. Recent data reinforces why this work matters. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report (2024), women represent 42% of the global workforce; fewer than 25% of C‑suite roles are held by women; and it will take (an average of) 134 years before we reach full parity.
Closing this gap requires deliberate decisions at every level: in hiring, in leadership, and in the daily management choices that rarely make it into any strategy document.
© CITY SECURITY MAGAZINE – AUTUMN 2026
When I look at my own journey, I’m acutely aware that while I’ve worked incredibly hard to be where I am, hard work alone isn’t always enough. I’ve been fortunate to have people who supported me, challenged me, advocated for me and encouraged me to take up space in rooms where a difference in opinion is needed. Their belief in me has made a difference – and I don’t take that for granted.
What needs to happen next
The organisations making the most progress are not doing anything revolutionary. They are simply being intentional. They are exploring different ways to attract young (or new) people. They are building internal community infrastructure – employee resource groups, women's initiative networks, mentorship programmes, cross-company forums such as SIA’s LeadHER and WISE’s Women in Security events – and making sure people know those resources exist. Some of the most useful infrastructure isn't internal at all. In the UK, Skills For Security are helping to create clearer pathways into the industry through apprenticeships, training programmes and employer partnerships. Their work addresses one of security's biggest challenges: visibility. Most people don't actively choose a career in security because they simply don't know it exists as an option.
At the management level, these winning organisations are doing the basic things consistently: noticing whose ideas land in meetings, providing stretch opportunities equitably, and building flexible and adaptable workplaces that allow working parents to thrive without having to choose between their career and their family.
The seat was always ours. The industry just did not always act like it. In 2026, with a talent gap that is only widening and a technology transformation that demands new kinds of thinking, failing to invest in women at every level of the organisation is has a cost. And that cost is becoming visible.
The rest will continue fishing from the same pond and wonder why the catch never changes.
Natacha Torres
Director of Marketing Communications HID
www.hidglobal.com Mature Markets, HID | Published March 2026
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