Article Citation: Burrell, D. N., & Nobles, C. (2018). Recommendations to Develop and Hire More Highly Qualified Women and Minority Cybersecurity Professionals. Peer-reviewed proceedings from the 13 th International Conference in Cyber Warfare and Security (ICCWS 2018). National Defense University, Washington DC, USA, on March 8 th and 9 th 2018. Academic Conferences International Limited. https://search.proquest.com/openview/99f1a60bdad6b94a26f6d7357b879175/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=396500 Recommendations to Develop and Hire More Highly Qualified Women and Minority Cybersecurity Professionals Darrell Norman Burrell, DHEd, EdS, MAIF, MA, MSHRD, MSM dburrell@email.phoenix.edu Calvin Nobles, PhD, MS cn8972@gmail.com Abstract The underrepresentation of women and minorities in computer science has been a concern to government, industry, and academia for more than 10 years. Researchers are indicating that within the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) domain, computer science is expected to experience the extensive growth through 2020 in the U.S.: yet, the pipeline struggles to produce enough college graduates to meet the demand. The shortage of computer scientists becomes more cumbersome when women and minorities remain significantly underrepresented, which means that women and people of color need more initiatives for inclusion in the equation. Organizations with Information Technology Departments have challenges with hiring cybersecurity professionals in this hypercompetitive environment due to a talent shortage. Considering the complexity of acquiring engineering and technical talent for organizations, highlights a deficiency in strategic initiatives aiming to hire more women and minority computer scientists and computer engineers. Diversity promotes differences in thinking and perspectives, enabling organizations to discover new vectors for problem solving, which have a dramatic impact on operational successes. Social scientists indicate that socially diverse groups and people with various specialties are more advantageous than a homogeneous group at solving complex, emergent problems. This is not only because people with different backgrounds provide different perspectives. Diversity can enhance the bread of knowledge and incite new practices by adding to an organization's intellectual capacity and innovative ideology. A diverse workforce is a core capability that provides organizations with a strategic advantage by approaching problems, projects, and strategies with holistic viewpoints such as minority computer scientists and engineers providing critical cultural and gender-based perspectives on engineering problems that are stymied due to shortsighted vantage points. Keywords Cybersecurity, minorities in STEM, women in STEM, minorities in cybersecurity, diversity, inclusion Full Text