International Women’s Day is celebrated every year on March 8th. This global day of celebration has been around for over a hundred years as a way to celebrate women’s achievement, raise awareness about discrimination, and take action to forge gender parity. This year’s theme is #GiveToGain.
Today, we’re spotlighting Bugcrowd’s HackHer Network. Check out the article below, originally published in our Inside the Mind of a Hacker Report.
There’s an untapped talent pool—women in cybersecurity. Unfortunately, the cybersecurity industry has struggled to create inclusive pathways that welcome and retain diverse talent. As a result, only 5% of hackers identify as women, and this percentage has remained relatively unchanged over the past few years.
At Bugcrowd, we want to do our part in creating a hacking community where everyone thrives. That’s why we launched the HackHer Network, a community for women in cybersecurity built by women who want to connect and grow together.
The goal of the HackHer Network is to create a space where all women, including cis, trans, and nonbinary individuals, can connect, collaborate, and grow together in a safe and productive online environment. Our community welcomes women at all career stages, from those just starting out to hobbyists and seasoned professionals.
By connecting inspiring women who have navigated similar challenges, we’re building a network that empowers current members of the cybersecurity community while inspiring the next generation of hackers and cybersecurity leaders. Since launching in March 2025, our community has grown to 200 members spanning 30 countries, with strong representation from historically underrepresented regions such as Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and Ghana.
The community is hosted in a Discord group, where members can connect with one another and access exclusive community resources. They can opt for mentorship opportunities, technical challenges and skill-building events, networking, business partnerships, and content and media opportunities.
Organizations need a steady supply of fresh perspectives and new voices to stay ahead of emerging cybersecurity threats. Meet three of our members whose stories capture the spirit of HackHer and show what it means to thrive together.
Katie’s extensive professional background ranges from game programming to software development. After deciding to pursue a PhD program, she found herself studying cybersecurity. She discovered that her background as a software engineer provided her with unique advantages. “I really enjoyed API hacking because I used to make APIs, and I realized that I can very quickly understand how they were built and how to break them,” she explains.
Community and mentorship have been a huge part of Katie’s success, and that’s why she’s giving back as a content creator and an educator. She creates educational content that provides thorough yet accessible information on bug bounty hunting. Her library of videos constitutes the course she wishes she had access to before she pursued this path.
Her authenticity is also inspiring. She says, “I’ve always demanded a space for myself. This is my interest, my field, my career, and I’m going to own it.”
Hailing from Ibadan, Nigeria, Olufela found the cybersecurity field through Africa’s first women-only cybersecurity program.
She quickly found her groove with offensive security, particularly in penetration testing. It felt like her calling, something that she’s “obsessed with.”
Now, she channels that experience into advice that she shares with other women in the network. She says, “I wish I had prioritized myself more. I also wish that I had ignored the people who discouraged me…. Never doubt yourself. The world is waiting for you, and we need you!”
Brigitte Lewis is a former sociology lecturer turned ethical hacker based in Melbourne, Australia. With seven years of experience in bug hunting and a PhD in sociology, she has become a vocal advocate for women in cybersecurity while building a successful career as a pentester and security consultant.
She credits the mentorship she received from women as critical to her success and passion for hacking, which continues to this day.
However, her career success has come with a sobering realization about the industry’s gender problems. That motivated her to support other women by starting W0m3nWh0HackM3lbourn3, a space for women to hack and learn together while having fun.
Download Inside the Mind of a Hacker to learn more about the incredible, diverse community of hackers who power the cybersecurity world.