Cybersecurity Burnout Crisis: Women’s Satisfaction Dives Lower Than Ever

At a glance

• Cybersecurity job satisfaction is falling, and the drop is steepest among women.
• 67% of women surveyed by ISC2 said they were satisfied with their jobs in 2024, down from 82% in 2022.
• Survey results show a gender gap in how job satisfaction has changed.
• Employers are being urged to rethink their workplaces to keep women in cybersecurity.

Why satisfaction matters

Job satisfaction in cybersecurity affects more than careers. It affects how well systems are protected. New survey data shows satisfaction falling among security professionals, especially women. Burnout is a growing concern.

The numbers

ISC2 found that 67% of women in cybersecurity were satisfied with their jobs in 2024, compared with 82% in 2022. Men’s satisfaction fell from 73% to 66%. The study linked the decline to layoffs and budget cuts: 32% of women said their organization had security layoffs in the past year, compared with 23% of men.

Gender differences in satisfaction and careers

Women in cybersecurity face their own challenges. ISC2 found that women were more likely than men to report budget cuts, hiring freezes and frozen promotions or raises at their organizations. Those pressures can push people out of the field early.

What the industry is doing

The sector still needs to fix gender imbalances. Women make up about 22% of the cybersecurity workforce in the countries ISC2 surveyed. Efforts to build inclusive cultures have had mixed results, and heavy workloads make the problem worse.

Keeping women in the field

Employers can do more to keep their staff. ISC2 found that fully remote workers reported the highest job satisfaction, so flexible schedules help. So do mental health support and mentorship programs, which give women guidance and support for long careers in security.

What employers should do now

Satisfaction is falling, and women are taking the bigger hit. Employers that keep flexible work, avoid deep security cuts and invest in mentoring will have a better chance of keeping skilled people. The field is short of workers already. It can’t afford to lose more.

Frank Jones, CISSP

Frank Jones has loved computers from the age of 13. Frank got his hacking career started when he downloaded a war dialing program that he used to detect dial up modems in his hometown of Chicago. Frank Jones now works as a JAVA coder and cyber security researcher.