GCF & USTTI Launch Women's Cyber Leadership Program for 2026

• GCF and USTTI announce the “Empowering Women in Cyber” program for 2026
• The program will be conducted in various cities in the US and Saudi Arabia
• The aim is to increase women’s representation in the field of cybersecurity

In an effort to the global initiatives that support women's leadership within the fields of Cybersecurity, the Global Cybersecurity Forum (GCF) and the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI) have announced the launch of the 2026 iteration of its program, "Empowering Women to Leadership in Cyber." This program will take place in multiple locations throughout both the United States and Saudi Arabia.

The program is part of the Women Empowerment in Cybersecurity (WEC) global initiative, which is being implemented by GCF and designed to create a more resilient cyber-world by increasing the number of women in the Cybersecurity workforce; promoting an inclusive capacity-building framework for women and others; and addressing the global Cybersecurity human resources shortage.

The second iteration of the program will consist of four separate training sessions designed to meet the ever-increasing global demand for more leadership-oriented Cybersecurity training.

Three sessions will take place in the United States – April 15; June 14; and July 27, followed by the final session in Saudi Arabia from September 27 through October 09.

According to the 2024 Cybersecurity Workforce report from GCF and BCG, there is a current global shortfall of 2.8 million cybersecurity workers; only 24 percent of the cybersecurity workforce is female.

The training program is designed to provide female professionals access to training and mentorship opportunities to build the necessary skillset and confidence to succeed in and lead within the increasingly complex cybersecurity environment, while also increasing female representation within the cybersecurity workforce.

The training program is an important feature of WEC as it seeks to increase female representation within the cybersecurity workforce, and aligns with GCF’s long-term goal of enhancing global cyber resilience by providing women with the skills, connections and opportunities to advance into leadership roles within the cybersecurity domain, helping create a more inclusive and future-ready cyber environment that promotes the safety and well-being of our societies, economies and nations worldwide.