Yesterday was International Women in Cyber Day, a day dedicated to recognizing the women who are helping shape cybersecurity and the contributions they continue to make across the industry.

It also comes just a few weeks before Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October, and for me, the timing feels especially relevant as we get ready to bring the cybersecurity community together at InfoSec World.

This year, I am incredibly proud that Women at InfoSec World will be part of that experience.

Taking place Wednesday, October 14, Women at InfoSec World brings together leaders from across cybersecurity for conversations around career growth, leadership, resilience, mentorship, sponsorship, allyship, and some of the challenges people face while building a career in this industry. The program is open to all genders and career stages, and access is included with any InfoSec World 2026 pass.

What I really like about the program is that it makes room for conversations that matter professionally and personally.

We will hear from women including Melia Dukes of Farmers Insurance, Akhila Nama of Box, Tamra Durfee of Fortified Health Security, Alicia Kelleher of Elastic, Heverin Joy Williams of McDonald’s, Candice Biamby of JPMorganChase, Amy Gutman of ToughLoveMD, Deidre Diamond of CyberSN, Mel Kolinski of Alliance of Channel Women, and Donna Ross of Radian. Their sessions touch everything from moving from practitioner to leader and defining your own path to the CISO role to burnout, boundaries, sponsorship, inclusion, and mentoring.

We are also fortunate to have partners helping us build and support the community around the program.

Alliance of Channel Women, Executive Women’s Forum, Women in Cybersecurity, Women in Security and Privacy, and Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu are all part of the InfoSec World partner community this year. Each has already been doing the work to connect, develop, advocate for, and create opportunities for women across cybersecurity and technology. Having those communities represented at InfoSec World makes the event stronger.

From a marketing perspective, that part is important to me.

I spend a lot of my time thinking about how we communicate what makes InfoSec World worth someone’s time. What belongs in an email. What should lead a campaign. What will make someone stop on a landing page or actually pay attention to an ad.
But the best marketing gets a whole lot easier when the event itself gives you something worth talking about.

Women at InfoSec World is one of those things for me.

Working on this program alongside our partners, speakers, content team, and the larger InfoSec World team has reinforced what I believe can set this event apart. It comes back to the people.

Who gets invited into the conversation? Who gets a platform? Are we creating opportunities for people to learn from someone whose career looks completely different from their own? Are we giving people reasons to actually talk to each other once they are in the room?

Those things matter just as much as the number of sessions on an agenda.
Cybersecurity moves incredibly fast, and there will always be another technology, threat, regulation, or acronym to talk about. What I hope we continue to build at InfoSec World is a place where we can talk about all of that while remembering the people who are actually leading teams, solving problems, navigating careers, mentoring others, and moving the industry forward.

International Women in Cyber Day gives us a reason to stop and recognize the women doing exactly that.

At InfoSec World this October, I am proud that we get to give some of them the microphone.