A webinar on March 8 to mark International Women’s Day 2021 is the latest event by the Inclusive Security Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Security Institute, which began last summer and is jointly chaired by Anna-Liisa Tampuu and Lisa Riley.
Anna-Liisa said: “With the Inclusive Security SIG, launched last year, we aim to raise awareness about the variety of opportunities in the field of security; showing the diverse nature of the profession – and the campaign #OurSecurity, is one example of our projects in 2021 that is set out to do just that. We also aim to foster a variety of perspectives, for increased productivity, creativity and growth of the talent pool. We aim to conduct surveys and research to understand the current diversity and challenges of the security industry and explore how inclusive security could lead to enhanced practices in the broader field of security.”
Lisa Riley, Executive Director, Global Interagency Security Forum, covering the humanitarian aid sector, was among the winners in the 2020 Women in Security (WiS) awards, announced this week. She said: “It is a privilege for me to be part of the Inclusive Security SIG at the Security Institute. Having originally trained as an engineer I am used to being in a minority, and while this does provide opportunities, it sometimes saddens me to see how little some things have changed. I am happy to play a small part in opening up the industry for everybody, and look forward to a time when inclusion and diversity is recognised as a strength of the security sector.”
The event due to run from 10am is free to attend; details at: https://event.bookitbee.com/.
Speakers invited include:
– Dame Lynne Owens, Director General of the UK’s National Crime Agency;
– Simon Gallow, UN Women UK;
– Dianne Allen OBE, veteran, and author of Forewarned;
– Alex Fazel, Chief Partnerships Officer at Swissborg, an inclusive and diverse Swiss cyber business;
– Pollyanna Lenkic, author of Women & Success and a builder of cultures programmes;
– Professor Lisa Short, digital technology analyst, strategist and design ecosystem thinker and global advocate for women in business, cyber and tech; and
– Dr Leigh Gassner, a previous Assistant Commissioner for Victoria Police in Australia, and working in China and South Africa on family violence and violence against women legislative and system reform.
As the launch event heard, featured in the September 2020 print edition of Professional Security magazine, not only does a diverse security workforce – in terms of gender, background and ethnicity – make for better security and a more profitable sector, it’s necessary if private security is to compete for talent with related fields such as the military and police, that are also looking to better reflect and serve their countries’ and customers’ make-up.
