We cannot achieve diversity by replacing white men with white women 16Essential Cybersecurity Practices for Secure Remote Working

We cannot achieve diversity by replacing white men with white women

The following article was published September 2021 in Women’s Agenda – see https:// womensagenda.com.au – a publication run by Agenda Media – a women-only owned and run news agency which reports on politics, business, leadership, technology, innovation and life from the perspective of professional women and female entrepreneurs. Agenda Media has published more than 1,600 newsletters with over 9,500 stories!! One of the two authors is our very own Council member and Chairperson of the Governance and Nominations subcommittee, Molina Asthana. The other author is Tu Le who was in a Labor Party preselection contest in Sydney’s western suburbs Fowler seat with Kristina Keneally. We are two women. Both women of colour, both lawyers, both who have collectively put in a couple of thousands of hours of volunteer work for our communities. Both have had to work hard to create a space for ourselves. One is the first woman of South Asian background to be elected the Vice President of any Law Society and the other had the potential to be the first Federal parliamentarian of Vietnamese heritage. Yet we are struggling to shatter the double-glazed glass ceiling that women of colour face. Many women of diverse backgrounds like us are well qualified, hardworking, conscientious and community minded. But we have to work doubly hard to prove ourselves, our mistakes are picked up and scrutinised more so than others and our efforts are constantly undermined.

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We are not often directly told to go back to where we came from. These kinds of racist attacks mostly happen on the street, by an unknown person, and not in the professional legal, board and political circles that we frequent through work. But what happened last week, without really saying that, meant exactly that. Former Prime Minister Paul Keating’s comments are a testimony to the devaluation of the talents of women of colour in discounting them as wellmeaning intentions that lack the ability to ‘ever get there’. So if we can never get there because we are not good enough compared to our more-privileged compatriots, where does that leave us? Should we just pack our bags and go back home to achieve our ambitions? But wait, this is home. When we have such rhetoric from a former Prime Minister, it validates, albeit, unfound, sentiments of many who think we are incompetent, inferior and unworthy of leadership positions. This is not the first time it has happened. We are constantly excluded from contributing to anything meaningful, sometimes deliberately, sometime unconsciously. We are continually sidelined for leadership opportunities. If we raise issues, we are trouble-makers, if we bring a diverse viewpoint, we are not considered team players, if we seek a leadership position, we get comments about spreading ourselves too thin and our competence is constantly scrutinised.

Molina Asthana is the Co- founder and lead Victorian Convenor of the Asian Australian Alliance.

Achieving diversity targets means more than just replacing white men with white women. The excessive focus on gender equality creates greater inequity for women of diverse backgrounds. Whereas quotas and targets are set for gender equality, there are no such quotas for cultural diversity. Institutions may appear to have met their goals for diversity if they have appointed enough women in leadership positions, but that completely ignores the need for an intersectional approach to diversity. No matter how much you sympathise, you can’t equate acquired experience with lived experiences.

It is similar to the distinctions made between ‘Asia capable leaders’ and leaders of Asian background. The former has acquired theoretical and perhaps limited practical knowledge whereas the latter has lived and breathed the experiences. To suggest that the level of understanding of issues facing the Asian communities is the same for both, is preposterous and delusional, particularly for political representation that also requires a certain level of connection with the community you represent. On the topic of political representation, the imposition of an AngloCeltic candidate who does not reflect the community they seek to represent and has little to no connection to that community, is an added level of privileged

arrogance stemming from the belief that marginalised minority communities lack the evolution to understand what is best for them. But unfortunately, this is not the first time local voices have been stymied by so called faceless men, nor will it be the last (for any party). Till a commitment is made to move away from the monochromatic view of diversity, it is unlikely that we will see this doubleglazed glass ceiling for women shattered. We often hear, ‘You can’t be what you can’t see”. But we’ve been invisible for too long. We’ve been underrepresented, sidelined and underestimated. We may not feel a small ripple, but no one can miss a tsunami. The waves of change will continue to smash the hegemonic systems that have been stacked against us women, particularly women of colour, for Tu Le is the Program Director at Migrant Employment Legal Service, the Co-Founder of centuries. It will take all of us The Youth Co-Lab, and a Youth Leader at the Vietnamese Buddhist Youth Association to keep fighting. Together, we will ride the wave into a better and brighter future for all women and girls from all walks of life. We “are not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from our own.” – a quote from Audre Lorde’s June 1981 keynote presentation entitled “The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism” at the National Women’s Studies Association Conference, Storrs, Connecticut Retrieved 27th September 2021 from https:// womensagenda.com.au/latest/we-cannot-achievediversity-by-replacing-white-men-with-whitewomen/

5 Essential Cybersecurity Practices for Secure Remote Working

Many small business owners had heard of remote working and were aware of its growing popularity a couple of years ago. However, for many, the need to plan for, implement and manage a remote working model seemed too difficult. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to switch to a remote working model. In some cases, this switch happened overnight. The sudden change left many small businesses vulnerable to cybersecurity breaches. While offices are generally equipped with secure measures to protect a business’s data, it is the home networks of employees that have become easy targets for cybercriminals. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to strengthen your barriers and protect your business data while you and your employees work remotely. It is critical that your entire team follows best practices to protect your business and client data from cybersecurity threats. Exposure to a cyber security breach can lead to significant business interruption, reputation damage, and costly litigation. The following are 5 cyber security practices to help you and your team when working remotely.

1. Protect Your Networks

• Allowing your employees to work remotely using their standard home network leaves your organisation vulnerable to a cybersecurity attack. Hackers are more likely to infiltrate home networks so you need to weigh up your access options. Access options include:• Virtual Private Network (VPN):- a VPN creates a secure ‘tunnel’ between your business network and an employee’s device. It offers an extra layer of protection, making it difficult for third parties to break through. • Portals:- a portal is a virtual desktop that your employees can log into to access company data and applications. A portal keeps your business’s information secure in one place. Furthermore, it allows you to restrict access to certain sites and software within the portal. • Direct application access:- this allows your employees to work remotely within certain

applications only. It limits the amount of data at risk. Direct application access is a very low-risk option, however, it may also hinder team productivity.

2. Use Two-Factor Authentication

Two-factor (2FA) authentication requires an employee to log into business accounts or portals by verifying their identity using a code sent to their mobile device or email address.

Even if a cybercriminal gets hold of an employee’s password, they still won’t be able to log into any company accounts where 2FA is required.

This extra layer of protection is simple yet very effective.

3. Separate Business and Personal Use

If your employees are using business-owned devices to work from home, it is prudent to restrict access to certain programs and data.

Many apps have tracking codes or malware that could present a risk to your business. Make sure your employees use business-owned devices for work purposes only.

4. Consider Mobile Devices

Smartphones are ubiquitous these days. Most employees use their personal devices when working from home to check emails and use business communication platforms such as

Slack, Google Chat and Microsoft Teams. These devices can present a cybersecurity threat.

Make sure your employees use a 2FA system to access these accounts from their mobile devices.

Consider purchasing mobile device management software. Such software will allow you to locate a device and wipe it of any business data in the event the device is lost or stolen.

5. Provide Regular Training

A study by IBM found that human error contributes to 95% of cybersecurity attacks, so employee education is the most powerful way to keep your business safe.

Thorough cybersecurity training should not simply form part of the employee on-boarding process. Provide your team with regular cybersecurity training to ensure they have upto-date knowledge of the best practices to follow.

Summary

Remote working certainly presents a new set of cybersecurity challenges for small businesses. However, this ‘new’ practice doesn’t have to render your business vulnerable. By providing staff with relevant and comprehensive training and protecting your networks, you can mitigate many of the cybersecurity risks that come with working from home. This article was retrieved 28th September 2021 from https://bonitas.tech.panalitix.com/.