The pronounced shortage of cybersecurity workers has been exhaustively chronicled, as has the low participation rate of Black people and other minorities among technology industry professionals.

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he pronounced shortage of cybersecurity workers has been exhaustively chronicled, as has the low participation rate of Black people and other minorities among technology industry professionals. According to the 2021 Cybersecurity Workforce Study issued in October by the non-profit International Information System Security Certification Consortium — (ISC)2 — unfilled cybersecurity openings in the United States totaled 2.72 million in the year’s fourth quarter. A report issued in April by Zippia found that Black workers, who account for 13% of the U.S. workforce, hold but 8% of cybersecurity jobs, a share that’s actually declining.