DE&I at Panaseer: breaking barriers in cyber

What is DE&I?

DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) is a framework for fostering an inclusive workplace culture. At Panaseer, this can mean folks can be their authentic selves, with people here feeling included and part of the community we are building.

It can be as simple as giving visibility to facets of who we are. This month for instance is Pride Month, where we’ll run a mix of activities to celebrate and educate Seers about LGBTQ+ folk.

If we break it down by each word, McKinsey has the following definitions that I found useful to explain the topic:

• Diversity refers to who is represented in the workforce. Some examples of diversity in workplaces include gender, age, ethnic as well as physical ability, and neurodiversity.
• Equity refers to fair treatment for all people so that the norms, practices, and policies in place ensure identity is not predictive of opportunities or workplace outcomes.
• Inclusion refers to how the workforce experiences the workplace and the degree to which organizations embrace all employees and enable them to make meaningful contributions.

How can we better facilitate DE&I in cybersecurity?

A great culture of Seers sharing their experiences, holidays, and personal stories exists. We have a great space to give people room to share their stories and experiences, which is so meaningful and special to share. It goes from ideas of what needs you think someone might have and becomes something real.

A highlight of 2024 for me was a panel we had at the Seer Summit. Women from across teams and levels came together as a fireside chat to discuss their experiences on:

• Motherhood and work life balance;
• Cultural gender-based expectations;
• Challenges faced by women in cyber;
• How the working culture has evolved over the last 20+ years, and so much more.

I can’t do it justice with written words. You had to be there to experience it. Everyone in the room was hanging on to every word that was said. It was a moment of real connection between the female panel and Seers across the business.

Women in cyber is another initiative that is close to Panaseer. With women in the cyber workforce staying low at 20%, Panaseer has continued to break that statistic. The business proudly began with our female co-founder, Sophie Harrison. JP Morgan most recently recognized Sophie in the Top 200 Women-Powered Businesses Report.

If I had to cover a culture of DE&I simply: be open with people. Share your lived experiences and listen to those of others. It’s a gift to learn about other people and their experiences.

The DE&I committee at Panaseer

Early in 2016, Our Lead Data Scientist Leila Powell joined the business and kicked off the diversity-in-tech group. This had the full backing and engagement of the founders of Panaseer.

This would eventually be the basis for various working company culture groups. Early on, there was a focus on promoting better practices around gender equality. We wanted to be aware of where diversity in cybersecurity was at (and even now there is still a long way to go!).

That first working group shaped how our recruitment process has evolved. We introduced a values-fit interview to ensure new joiners aligned with the values that form the company. We also try to have diverse panels of Seers to carry them out.

The committee is made up of the following Seers:

• Frankie (Customer Success)
• Tim (Support & Services)
• Feranmi (Implementation Engineering)
• Bethan (People Team)
• Abhishek (Product Management)
• Thordis (Data Science)
  

People are free to jump in and out based on commitments, but it’s a delight to work with a cross-functional group! We all believe in making Panaseer a more inclusive community. Our efforts would be for naught if it wasn’t for the people beyond the committee doing their bit too.

Looking forward to the year ahead, we’re trying to connect people in more engaging ways. This includes sharing music and working with the People team to keep up the great work of our predecessors. We want to ensure anyone new to Panaseer has a positive, inclusive experience from the word go.

A personal story

In 2022, I joined Panaseer and sabotaged the all-women Data Science team. As penance, I wanted to do my part for diversity. To be entirely serious though, I’ve sometimes found it difficult to express myself. This is partly from being anxious about judgment, and partly from how the circuitry between my brain and the words I put together can decide not to play ball!

I’m getting better at the first one with time, but it helps to be in a place with no judgment. It’s easier to talk to people when I’m not also mentally limiting myself to avoiding referring to my partner in case it leads to judgment – or worse, drunken inquiries on social occasions that you wouldn’t ask of someone straight.

Panaseer waved a green (or rainbow, given the month) flag from the start. I knew immediately I wanted to be a part of this inclusive workplace. Even at the interview, it was clear that there was a considerate, socially conscious mindset here, and that I could be myself.

Our guest writer for this article is George Whittaker, a Data Analyst in the Data Science team. If you want to learn more about careers in cyber, visit our careers page.