In this leadership spotlight, Charlotte Wilson, Head of Enterprise and Strategic Sales at Check Point Software, talks to Information Security Buzz about the importance of diversity and inclusivity in the AI era.
AI is an inescapable facet of modern cybersecurity. But unless we actively address bias and representation, it could entrench inequalities in the very systems meant to protect us. Charlotte is clear-eyed about the technology’s power and pitfalls. “AI gives us phenomenal power,” she says. “But we have to be mindful of how we’re using it and who is influencing it.
The Hidden Bias in AI Systems
Charlotte recognizes that AI offers enormous value to security teams. But she also warns that it poses risks beyond the technical, ones that threaten fairness and trust.
“There’s a real concern about diversity in the AI space,” she explains. The AI industry faces many of the same problems as the cybersecurity sector: too few women in technical roles, too few female-founded companies receiving investment, and, in AI’s case, open-source models that reflect narrow, often biased perspectives.
“If the data we train AI on isn’t balanced, we risk embedding those biases into the tools themselves, and doing it at scale,” she warned. Without strong diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, AI could hardcode unfairness into the next generation of security technologies.
Charlotte noted one particularly striking example of how bias can materialize in AI models. In 2023, Buzzfeed published an article on what AI thinks Barbie dolls from different countries would look like. The results were shocking: a German Barbie in an SS uniform, a South Sundanese Barbie wielding a gun, and Barbies from Latin America depicted as fair-skinned.
Understandably, Buzzfeed took down the images, but Charlotte argues this was a missed opportunity. “It demonstrated the bias in the underlying models. Hiding it doesn’t solve the problem; we need to confront it,” she said.
When DEI Progress Stalls
In Charlotte’s view, the politicization of DEI has stalled its progress. “It’s got worse,” she argued. “The debate has been sidetracked by things that aren’t really about fairness or equality. It’s made open conversation uncomfortable.”
Social media echo chambers – and now AI-driven content recommendations – compound the problem, deepening divisions. “In the past, you’d debate things down the pub with someone who disagreed with you. Now it’s easier to get tunnel vision. We lose that healthy friction.”
Building More Inclusive Pathways
Charlotte sees multiple solutions to the DEI problem, starting with encouraging more diverse entry routes into AI and cybersecurity fields. “Apprenticeships should aim for a 50/50 gender split. I see no reason why they shouldn’t.”
She also believes more emphasis should be placed on sponsorship, not just mentoring. “Women need to find advocates who will speak up for them. I asked a room of sixty women if they’d ever asked someone to sponsor them; not one hand went up,” Charlotte recalled. “We need to teach those skills.”
Framing the Business Case
Charlotte makes no bones about making the case for DEI to decision-makers. “The stats haven’t changed,” she said. “More diverse leadership leads to more profitable companies, faster innovation, and better market performance.”
She did, however, acknowledge that the language around DEI can get in the way. “Maybe there’s a conversation to be had about whether we even call it DEI,” she suggested. “It’s become a bit of a dirty word in some circles. But if you say to any CEO, ‘I want to help you innovate faster and drive better outcomes,’ they won’t say no. Diversifying your teams is simply part of achieving that.”
Her advice: strip away the politics and focus on outcomes. “If you keep the conversation grounded in innovation, growth, and delivering results, it’s very hard to argue against that.”
The Human Mission at the Heart of Cybersecurity
Ultimately, Charlotte believes cybersecurity is – and has always been – a deeply human mission. “A lot of women I know in this industry are here because they want to protect people,” she said. “We’re nurturers, protectors. AI can absolutely support that mission, but only if we approach it responsibly.”
Josh is a Content writer at Bora. He graduated with a degree in Journalism in 2021 and has a background in cybersecurity PR. He's written on a wide range of topics, from AI to Zero Trust, and is particularly interested in the impacts of cybersecurity on the wider economy.
The opinions expressed in this post belong to the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Information Security Buzz.