As we acknowledge and celebrate achievements and advancements for women and people of color over the last two months, we must also call attention to the disappointing data from our Annual CISO Survey regarding DEIB.

Despite many companies pledging to prioritize Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives in the wake of the widespread outrage surrounding the killing of George Floyd in 2020, recent trends indicate a significant retreat from these pledges within the tech industry.

In 2023, there was a conspicuous decline in the proportion of companies (publicly traded and privately held) that have established plans to enhance DEIB (-9.6% for Private Companies and -4.58% for Public Companies); this trend is a continuation of what we observed from 2021 to 2022. Significantly, we have observed a 29% decline among privately held companies and a 12% drop among publicly traded companies compared to their 2021 levels.

The budgets for external DEI organizations were reduced by up to 90% in 2023, according to sources cited by CNBC.

While the focus on DEIB programs fell within the tech sector, the diversity numbers in security teams at public and private companies remain optimistic. One-third of security teams within privately held companies report being more than 50% diverse, while publicly traded companies (typically much bigger) report that 1 in 4 security teams are 27.36% diverse.