Breaking the Code: Women Navigating Israel's Cybersecurity Industry
A recent discussion on gender disparity in Israel's cybersecurity sector highlights persistent challenges for women in tech, from military intelligence units to startup boardrooms, even as female leaders push for broader representation and systemic change.
The Israeli cyber industry often prides itself on rapid innovation, cutting-edge technology, and breaking conventions. Yet, beneath the booming startup ecosystem lies a persistent gender gap. A recent comment by Wiz co-founder and CEO Asaf Rappaport—noting that while being gay in cyber is challenging, being a woman is even harder—has reignited a crucial conversation about representation, leadership, and the entrenched networks of the sector.
The Roots of the Gap: From Military Units to Classrooms
The disparity does not begin in corporate boardrooms; its roots stretch back to high school and elite military intelligence units such as 8200. According to data from the Israel Innovation Authority for 2026, only 34.5% of students taking the 5-unit matriculation exam in computer science in 2024 were young women. While the IDF reports that female representation in cyber roles reached roughly 33% in the 2025 intake, and female graduates from the military's Basmach computer school rose from 43% in 2024 to 46% in 2026, the corporate transition tells a different story.
Data from the Innovation Authority indicates that women account for 26.3% of non-managerial roles in private cyber firms in Israel, but that figure plummets to 15.5% among senior executives. Furthermore, among cyber startups founded between 2013 and 2024, a mere 5.1% of CEOs whose gender is known are women.
Navigating the Challenges of Leadership
Shahar Bahat, 30, CEO and co-founder of Pluto Security, spent five years in Unit 8200 and held key roles at Microsoft before launching her startup. She acknowledges the hurdles of operating in a male-dominated ecosystem.
"Asaf is right. People are trying to address the difficulties, but the challenges remain. We are more entrepreneurial than we were three years ago, but it is still not enough," Bahat notes. She highlights the constant pressure to over-perform, project authority without being perceived as aggressive, and overcome persistent biases regarding family planning during fundraising.
Despite these obstacles, leaders like Inbal Argov, VP of Product Strategy at Mate, point to positive momentum. Argov, who transitioned into cyber later in her career and built AI-driven security solutions, emphasizes the unique drive shared by women in the field. "In every discipline at Mate, there is a strong woman—in sales, research, and marketing. We share an extra drive because we feel this is rarer and more special," she says.
Building Networks and Changing the Narrative
Grassroots organizations are actively working to shift the balance. Eden Katz, a cybersecurity researcher at AI startup Alice and volunteer manager at "HaHackariot" (The Hackers)—a non-profit founded in 2022 to integrate women into cyber—notes that data collected from about 2,700 public LinkedIn profiles shows women make up 18.2% of core technical roles like penetration testers and security analysts, with numbers dropping to 14% in advanced research positions.
While recognizing the structural barriers, industry veterans emphasize the importance of focusing on achievements rather than solely on obstacles. By mentoring the next generation, expanding talent pipelines, and highlighting technical excellence, female leaders across Israel's high-tech landscape are actively rewriting the code for the future of cybersecurity.
