Empowering Female Cyber Warriors: A New Era in Cybersecurity

At a glance

• Launch of Women in Cybersecurity RSO: Illinois State University now has a Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) chapter, recognized as a Registered Student Organization (RSO) in January 2025.
• Addressing Underrepresentation: Women make up about 10% of Illinois State’s cybersecurity program enrollment.
• Building a Support Network: The group offers guest speakers, networking and skill-building events.
• Encouraging Diversity: The chapter is open to women and allies who want to build technical skills.
• Future Prospects: Plans include site visits, competitions and work with other chapters.

A new chapter at Illinois State

Cybersecurity is one of the fastest-growing fields of the 21st century, and women are still a small share of it. Illinois State University students have started a chapter of Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS), now a Registered Student Organization (RSO). Junior cybersecurity major Jasmine Dhamers founded it. “I wanted to make a community for those who wanted it or needed it,” she told the university’s news service.

The numbers behind the gap

Women make up about 10% of enrollment in Illinois State’s cybersecurity program, according to Dhamers, and about 18% of the cybersecurity industry nationally, according to a 2024 LinkedIn report. The chapter’s advisor, associate professor Dr. Yousra Javed, says low early exposure, stereotypes about the field and a shortage of female role models all play a part.

What members get

Meetings open with introductions and a Q&A with guest speakers. In early March 2025, the group hosted a panel of women who work in security at State Farm. Javed says the goal is recruiting and keeping underrepresented students in the major, and her role is to provide mentorship, resources and technical help.

A wider pipeline for the field

A field short on workers can’t afford to lose half its potential recruits. Teams that include people with different backgrounds catch problems that a uniform team misses. Recruiting starts in class.

Plans for the rest of the year

The chapter plans site visits to local businesses’ security departments, more guest speakers and a capture the flag competition in April. It also wants to work with other universities’ chapters and student groups.

Small numbers, real goals

The Illinois State chapter is small and new. Dhamers says she hopes it raises the share of women in the program, “even if it’s just by 1%.” For students who feel out of place in a mostly male major, a group like this can decide whether they stay.

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.