Guest speaker CyberWest Director Cecily Rawlinson with event host Pia Turcinov at the Edith Cowan Memorial Lecture.
Edith Cowan University (ECU) has celebrated International Women's Day by hosting dozens of women and men, ECU staff and members of the public at its annual Edith Cowan Memorial Lecture.
International Women's Day 2023 marked with the theme 'Cracking the Code: Innovation for a Gender Equal Future' serving as a worthy tribute to the University's namesake, and female leadership all over the world.
Hosting the crowd was ECU Council Member Pia Turcinov, Immediate Past Chair of Women in Technology WA, who challenged the audience to explore with her the role that bold, transformative ideas, inclusive technologies, and accessible education can play in combatting discrimination and the marginalisation of women.
People were then introduced to keynote speaker Cecily Rawlinson, Director of CyberWest - the WA Cyber Security Innovation Hub, who recalled her own experiences of misogyny and sexism working in overseas in International Relations, and more recently as a woman in the 'modern' world of cyber.
"It was in 2019 that I got my first job in tech, there were 309 people in the company and only 30 of them were women," Ms Rawlinson said.
"Upon taking up a particular employment contract in 2008 overseas, I was asked if I had any intention of having children in the next few years."
A self-proclaimed feminist ally, Ms Rawlinson shared her passion for working with organisations that strive for positive, equitable and inclusive impact.
She says we can all - collectively - forge positive change that pushes towards a gender-equal future by embracing the skills and knowledge of women in tech industries.
If you see it, you have to act.
"If you're in a privileged position or a position of power you can use that to help someone else get noticed," Ms Rawlinson said.
CyberWest was initially established in 2018 as part of the AustCyber Industry Growth Network, as of this year it has re-established itself, supported by the State Government through the New Industry Fund and hosted by ECU.
Currently led by Ms Rawlinson and her all-female team, CyberWest is aimed at supporting growth and commercial opportunities for the cyber security sector, building capability in the next generation of cyber professionals, and improving cyber security awareness and preparedness in all WA businesses, "we're now entering an exciting new phase of growth," Ms Rawlinson said.
If you're interested in learning more about Western Australia's growing cyber sector, register for the May CyberWest Summit.
