DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

We’re creating a stronger, more diverse, more resilient security community.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are essential for the security profession to thrive, remain resilient and lean into the future threat landscape. A robust pipeline of DEI candidates, at all levels, ensures a healthy future for our critical industry. Yet the security profession has traditionally not been as diverse as it needs to be.

TSF DEI Statement

The Security Foundation is committed to promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) throughout the security profession. Our goal is to grow the diversity of leadership and foster representation to produce a more authentic reflection of the communities we safeguard. We recognize the many underrepresented groups in the security profession, and our initial priority focus will be on women, People of Color and LGBTQI+ groups to increase access, engagement and retention to create a sustainable, more diverse workforce and leadership.

Defined by TSF’s Board of Directors, DEI for our organization encompasses these underrepresented communities in security: Black/African American; Hispanic/Latino; Asian/API; Native Americans; Women; LGBTQI+; and Veterans.

Annual DEI Summit

TSF convenes and coordinates the annual DEI Summit of security leaders from security nonprofits and public-private partnerships. The group is developing DEI programming, recruitment and data collection to impact every sector of the security and safety profession in the U.S. and abroad.

Inaugural Participants:

The group has monthly planning meetings, quarterly updates and an annual, in-person DEI Summit, hosted by TSF. At the first Summit in April 2023, the group developed a Joint DEI Statement to guide its work. At TSF’s second annual event in May 2024, Girl Security and the International Organization of Black Security Executives (IOBSE) joined the effort, and the Security Coalition of Equitable Advancement (SCEA) was born. 

DEI Calendar

The DEI Summit Group curates a calendar of DEI holidays, celebrations and DEI-focused events in the security industry. Anyone participating in any TSF-sponsored event and/or activity in any capacity is subject to the TSF Code of Conduct.

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We want to ensure all backgrounds and identities are represented in our DEI Calendar. Please feel free to provide a date or event we inadvertently missed. Please allow 2 weeks for review upon submission.

DEI Resources

We constantly curate a variety of opportunities from internships and fellowships to information to hire and retain professionals through a DEI focus. Note that some content requires membership. For more information on our DEI resources, contact Carly Coaty, TSF Director of Programs, [email protected]

DEI News

Large group of people in a conference room

May 16, 2024

TSF DEI Summit: DEI’s Essential Role in Creating Resilience in the Security Sector

As technology and digital spaces pervade our lives and work, diversity is more important than ever. Particularly in the security sector, diversity has become essential…
Headshot of Karen

April 3, 2024

My Security Journey: Karen Frank, Managing Director and Head of Firm Security Services, KPMG

Karen Frank’s path to her current role as Managing Director and Head of Firm Security Services at KPMG is lined with nearly 25 years of opportunities,…

April 17, 2024

DEI Spotlight: Girl Security

The security profession, public and private, is slowly changing from mostly male and white to a more diverse reflection of the communities it serves. At…
headshot for Carly

April 11, 2024

Carly Coaty, TSF Director of Programs, Earns Cornell University DEI Certification

Carly Coaty, Director of Programs for The Security Foundation (TSF), recently completed Cornell University’s DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) certification. This four-course, online program includes…

February 21, 2024

My Security Journey: Bobby Louissaint, Head of Technical Partnership Engagement, Meta

Bobby Louissaint is a noted thought leader in how security can better harness technical solution delivery. Today, he’s helping to lead Meta’s technical strategies for…

February 21, 2024

DEI Spotlight: International Organization of Black Security Executives

The Security Foundation is proud to feature organizations within the security profession making a difference in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) awareness, recruitment and retention…

November 22, 2023

TSF Funds Two Students for TSF Dinner & OSAC Week

Two Northeastern University (NU) rising graduate students and emerging security leaders attended the 2023 ISF Dinner, the 2023 Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) Annual Briefing…

November 20, 2023

Global Security Pride Evening Reception

The Global Security Pride (GSP), the newest Common Interest Committee (CIC) for the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), held its second event on November 13,…

July 7, 2022

TSF-Funded OSAC Events, Spring 2022

As OSAC returned to in-person events for many of its programs, TSF continued its funding of vital OSAC programming this past spring. Through the generosity…

December 1, 2023

Rich Davis Honored with George P. Shultz Award

Rich Davis, The Security Foundation (TSF) President for the past six years, is the 2023 recipient of the prestigious George P. Shultz Award for Excellence…
two people standing in front of a podium

December 12, 2022

TSF-Funded OSAC Events Round-Up

This year’s return to in-person OSAC events has been exciting. In January 2022, OSAC Country Chapters and Common Interest Committees (Regional, Sector and Special Interest…

September 21, 2023

TSF DEI Journey Map

The Security Foundation (TSF) has been focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as part of its strategic plan. Creating a DEI Journey Map recently…

January 8, 2024

TSF Board Achieves 50% Diversity

On January 1, 2024, with the new Board of Directors slate for The Security Foundation (TSF), TSF has achieved 50% diversity among its Board members…

July 23, 2023

Sue Gordon, Former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Keynote Speaker for 2023 TSF Dinner   

We’re delighted to announce that the Honorable Sue Gordon, 30-Year National Security Leader, Former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence (PDDNI), will be the keynote…

January 10, 2024

Q&A With Dave Komendat & Rich Davis on TSF, Today & Tomorrow

On January 1, 2024, Dave Komendat became President of The Security Foundation Board of Directors. He succeeds Rich Davis who completed two highly impactful terms…

September 7, 2023

Jonathan Capehart Selected as TSF Dinner Emcee

We’re delighted to announce that Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and MSNBC anchor Jonathan Capehart will serve as Emcee for the 12th Annual ISF Dinner Supporting the…

July 6, 2022

5 Questions for Tammi Morton: VP & CSO, Raytheon

The data reveals what the private corporate security community sees every day: a glaring disparity in the numbers of women in leadership positions. In 2022,…

June 10, 2021

TSF 10th Anniversary Speaker: Sec. Madeleine Albright

The Security Foundation (TSF) is thrilled to announce that Secretary Madeleine Albright is TSF’s 10th Anniversary Speaker for TSF’s Virtual Reception on Wednesday, November 17,…

June 7, 2023

Carly Coaty Appointed as TSF’s First Director of Programs

Carly Coaty, an experienced program manager and event planner and former Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) Program Manager, joined TSF’s staff on May 15, 2023,…
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December 9, 2022

Global Security Pride Committee Launch Co-Sponsored by TSF

During the OSAC Annual Briefing Week, on November 15, 2022, the Global Security Pride Committee (GSPC) held its inaugural event, a High Securti-Tea at the…

July 12, 2023

TSF Announces DEI Effort

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is critical to the security profession. Known for a non-diverse workforce at all levels, several organizations, public and private, are…

TSF’s Board of Directors started discussing the lack of diversity in 2021 and created a TSF Board Diversity Committee. During TSF’s Strategic Plan Board discussion in 2022, DEI became one of the priority focuses with the overarching theme to “Promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) for the Benefit of the Security Profession.” We set specific internal goals for our organization to meet by 2025 and brainstormed about DEI promotion through education and grantmaking.

TSF’s Board and staff also worked with an outside DEI Advisor, Dr. Ron Brown, on DEI training, which will  continue annually.

While many organizations are addressing the challenges of DEI in the security profession, TSF believes that to make any measurable change requires a combined, coordinated effort by many organizations. By bringing the initial group of five organizations together, we hope to collaborate to start building programs, awareness and educational opportunities for underrepresented people in the security profession.

Recognizing that TSF had the resources to do so, we hosted the first joint DEI Summit in April 2023 with five participating organizations:

TSF’s Board also dedicated additional resources to this initiative by funding a new position, Director of Programs, in spring 2023 to spearhead the collaborative work of the five organizations, which have formed the Joint DEI Task Force.

The Security Coalition of Equitable Advancement (SCEA) has evolved through our collaborative efforts. It began as the Joint DEI Task Force and later became the DEI Summit Group, consisting of five partner organizations that came together to advance DEI initiatives in spring 2023. The founding members of the Joint DEI Task Force were ASIS, DSAC, TSF, ISMA, and OSAC. In May 2024, the group transformed into SCEA, expanding its membership across the security industry and building upon the foundation laid by the Joint DEI Task Force.

The security profession faces significant challenges in creating a more diverse and inclusive workforce, at all levels. In its recent survey, SMR Group, a security industry placement firm, learned that 94% of its candidates for security, risk and resiliency positions globally were men, with 70% coming from a former government background, typically, military, police or intelligence.

For underrepresented groups, there have been advancements, but critical gaps remain. For example, in cybersecurity, only 11% of the global cybersecurity workforce are female—a significant issue for an industry facing 1.8 million-plus unfulfilled jobs (Cybercrime Magazine).

The security profession’s lack of diversity in gender, race and sexual orientation also affects organizations’ ability to create the best crisis response, which benefits from  different perspectives and experiences. When our teams have diversity, equity and inclusion at their core, we are better able to plan and respond to our communities in crisis. In fact, diverse teams make better decisions 87% of the time and more efficiently—twice as fast and in half the time, according to Cloverpop—and deliver 60% better results.

Creating initiatives that address the security profession’s DEI challenges will create a more robust pipeline for those entering the profession and provide more opportunities across all levels. This is one of the priorities identified at the DEI Summit.

TSF’s mission is to “Promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) for the Benefit of the Security Profession” as stated in our Strategic Plan.

TSF’s DEI Initiatives include organizing and funding the DEI Summit and the initiatives that develop from the work of the Security Coalition for Equitable Advancement (SCEA).

TSF is working with our grantees to educate about the importance of DEI in their staff and leadership and  balanced representation in the programs that we fund through our grants programs.

TSF DEI initiatives are funded through restricted donations to TSF and unrestricted TSF Board designated funds.

Carly Coaty, Director of Programs
[email protected]

Contact

Contact Carly Coaty, TSF Director of Programs, with questions or comments on TSF’s DEI program.