Fortinet announced the inaugural American Junior Golf Association’s (AJGA) Fortinet Girls Invitational happening February 17-20, 2023 at Stanford University’s Golf Course. Expanding its existing partnership with the AJGA as the Official Diversity & Inclusion/STEM Education Partner, this tournament for top women amateur golfers further builds on Fortinet’s efforts to promote diversity and inclusion by fostering opportunities for women at various levels in their career.
As part of these efforts, Fortinet also supports its ambassadors Rose Zhang and Rachel Heck, two Stanford University student athletes, as well as its LPGA brand ambassadors Alison Lee and Andrea Lee across various LPGA Tour tournaments.
Additionally, the company was the Official Cybersecurity Partner for the LPGA’s BMW Ladies Championship in Wonju, South Korea, and the Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati, Ohio last year.
Fortinet’s Initiatives to Attract and Retain More Women in Cyber
In cybersecurity, women make up an estimated 24% of the workforce. At the same time, there is a global shortage of 3.4 million workers in cybersecurity.
Fortinet is committed to fostering more diversity and inclusivity in the industry and to helping close the cyber skills gap by creating more opportunities for women to enter the field and grow in their careers.
John Maddison, EVP of Products and CMO at Fortinet: “The Fortinet Girls Invitational expands the opportunities we are providing women at varying levels of their golf career, ranging from AJGA amateur players to LPGA champions, as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility efforts to foster diversity and inclusion. Within our field, Fortinet is also doing this by providing training and other resources for women either looking to start a career in cyber or pursuing growth opportunities through the Fortinet Training Institute programs and other CSR initiatives.”
Through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) approach and Fortinet Training Institute programs, Fortinet is progressing on these efforts by:
–Increasing access to its industry-leading training for women: Through its Education Outreach program, Fortinet looks for ways to work with organizations specializing in diversity and encouraging careers for women. For example, Fortinet has forged a new partnership with Latinas in Cyber (LAIC). LAIC will provide its members with access to Fortinet’s multi-level certifications and training curriculum. Additionally, through its partnership with WiCyS, Fortinet has sponsored 5 women members from its NSE 4 Certification Boot Camp to attend the annual Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) Conference March 16-18 where they will have access to employers and cyber leaders, including conference keynote speaker Sylvia Schlaphof who is Head of Engineering for BOLL Engineering and a Fortinet NSE 8 certification holder.
–Offering career development opportunities: Fortinet is hosting the WEMS (Women Empowering and Mentoring for Success) Conference, a women in tech experience, on March 7-9, bringing Fortinet customers, partners, and employees together at the company’s Sunnyvale headquarters, with 2 additional chapter locations in our New York and Texas offices. The two-day networking experience will focus on how to build a more diverse cybersecurity workforce through training and mentorship and will offer women a chance to network, learn new skills, and elevate their professional brand.
–Donating proceeds from golf sponsorship events to women-focused organizations: Fortinet has designated proceeds from the Fortinet Championship to benefit nonprofit organizations in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM); diversity and inclusion; and reskilling programs, including organizations like non-profit WINE WOMEN, focused on advancing women in their careers.
–Developing cyber skills in students to help build a diverse, inclusive workforce: Through the Academic Partner program, Fortinet is creating partnerships with universities and colleges to help expand the cybersecurity workforce. Through this program, Fortinet is also encouraging a more diverse set of candidates in other fields of study, such as business, communications, marketing and more, and helping connect them to employers.