Celebrating Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day at Fortinet

Fortinet has a longstanding commitment to bringing more individuals from different backgrounds into the field of cybersecurity. Today, women make up just 24% of the cybersecurity workforce, but many organizations-including Fortinet-are actively pursuing initiatives to grow the cybersecurity talent pool by building a more inclusive and equitable workforce. Our goal is to train one million people in cybersecurity by 2026 through our Fortinet Training Institute programs, furthering our pledge to diversify the industry.

Honoring Women Through Fortinet-Hosted Events

In celebration of Women's History Month in March and International Women's Day on March 8, Fortinet honored what the month represents by hosting events in our offices across North America, Latin America, and other regions globally. Below is an overview of some of these activities around the world.

North America

• Women in Tech event in California: Fortinet held its second annual Women in Tech event in Silicon Valley, CA where Fortinet is headquartered. Our motivational keynote speaker, the internationally acclaimed Deshauna Barber, inspired and empowered attendees by sharing her fearless approach to diversity and inclusion, youth and women's empowerment, mental health awareness, and much more. Our second keynote speaker-bestselling author and former editor-in-chief of Verywell Mind, Amy Morin-empowered the audience with tips for facing (and conquering) any challenge in the workplace and in personal lives.
  
• Women of Impact in Cybersecurity event in Sunrise, Florida: Fortinet's Sunrise office held a special luncheon and hosted guest speaker Jovianna Gonzalez, founder and CEO of Digital Forensics Now. Jovianna highlighted the challenges women face in cybersecurity, gave actionable advice for how to overcome them, and noted specific achievements of various women in our industry.
• International Women's Day celebration in Burnaby, Canada: Fortinet's office in Burnaby held their International Women's Day event on March 7. Attendees had the opportunity to learn about the various diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives happening at Fortinet.
• International Women's Day celebration in Ottawa, Canada: In Ottowa, Fortinet employees came together to network and discuss important topics such as diversity in cybersecurity. The event also featured giveaways and the opportunity to take professional headshots.

Latin America

• Leadership Among Women event in Latin America: During this event, guest speakers and Fortinet employees discussed concepts of leadership and affiliation, and talked about practices of trust, loyalty, commitment, and care among women to build relationships to promote individual and collective well-being.
• Women of Impact in Cybersecurity event in Mexico City, Mexico: The Fortinet office in Mexico hosted a panel discussion featuring guest speakers and Fortinet employees where participants spoke about topics such as the inclusion of women in cybersecurity and suggestions for career development. Within the framework of this commemoration, Fortinet Mexico was recognized for the second consecutive year as one of the Best Places to Work for Women by Great Place to Work, ranking #11 within the category "50 to 500 Multinationals," being one of the leading companies in the transformation of organizational cultures that promote gender equality and encourage an inclusive future in the country.
  
• Women of Impact in Cybersecurity event in Sao Paulo, Brazil: This Fortinet office hosted guest speaker Eva Pereira-director of security and people culture, social responsibility, and advisor at IBLISS Digital Security as well as vice president of LATAM Women in Cybersecurity. Discussion topics focused on empowerment and career development.

Asia-Pacific

• Wellness for Women, Financial Freedom, and Inclusion Matters event in Bangalore, India: Fortinet India invited experts to deliver talks to our employees on a variety of critical topics throughout the first week of March. On March 8, Fortinet hosted a final session where the office's diversity, equity, and inclusion council members spoke with employees.

Europe, the Middle East, and Africa

• International Women's Day celebration in Istanbul, Turkey: Fortinet's very own Arzu Akkaya spoke with Fortinet employees in our Istanbul office, inspiring women to pursue their personal and professional dreams.
• International Women's Day celebration in London and Reading, United Kingdom: Our UK-based employee resource group continued to support clothing donations for the second year, which benefited local non-profits.

Diversifying Our Global Cybersecurity Workforce

Improving diversity among the global cybersecurity workforce will benefit our industry in numerous ways. Studies show that hiring women is quite literally good for business, resulting in increased productivity, better collaboration, improved fairness, and so much more.

At Fortinet, we're dedicated to helping women jump-start or advance a career in cybersecurity with our training efforts, as well as through ongoing collaborations with organizations like Women in Cybersecurity and LATAM Women in Cybersecurity. By working together, we can collectively shrink the cybersecurity talent gap, fill vital roles, and build a more diverse workforce.

Find out more about how the Fortinet Training Institute's programs, including the NSE Certification program, Academic Partner program, and Education Outreach program, are helping to solve the cyber skills gap and prepare the cybersecurity workforce of tomorrow.

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