UN Women and Global Cybersecurity Forum launch initiative to expand women’s leadership in cybersecurity

# What happened UN Women and the Global Cybersecurity Forum (GCF) signed a partnership agreement at a high-level event on 22 September 2026, on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81). The signatories included UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous and GCF CEO Abdurahman AlHassan. The event launched the Women's Empowerment in Cybersecurity initiative, a collaboration designed to increase women's participation and leadership in cybersecurity.

# Why this matters

# What the initiative will do The collaboration sets out three linked goals:

• Create concrete opportunities for entry, advancement and visibility, not limited to training but changing systems that shape hiring, promotion and professional networks.

UN Women and GCF plan to mobilize multistakeholder partners and networks to extend reach. The initiative aims to reach up to 6 million women and girls worldwide.

# The barriers the initiative targets Barriers begin early and accumulate over time. The initiative identifies key blockages:

• Limited access to mentors, role models and professional networks for young women entering the sector.
• Bias in recruitment, retention and promotion that keeps women out of leadership and high-profile projects.

Because these barriers are systemic, the initiative emphasizes shifting perceptions and transforming systems alongside training and outreach.

# Policy and global alignment The partnership builds on UN Women's prior work on gender equality in the digital age and ties into international policy frameworks: the Beijing+30 Action Agenda, the outcomes of the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) on innovation and technological change, and the Global Digital Compact's goal of an inclusive digital future.

# Immediate signals and next steps The public signing at UNGA81 signaled high-level support and drew attention to women's leadership in cyber. The initiative intends to mobilize governments, private sector actors, civil society and networks to implement practical programs that create mentorship, leadership pipelines and visible career pathways.

# Bottom line The partnership reframes underrepresentation in cybersecurity as a solvable mix of cultural, educational and institutional barriers. By combining outreach, systems-change measures and global partnerships, the Women's Empowerment in Cybersecurity initiative aims to expand participation and leadership for women and girls at scale.