Respect in Security pledge

Posted on August 10, 2021 by Louise Howland

ramsac has signed the Respect in Security pledge, as a member of the cybersecurity community we have committed to the prevention of all forms of harassment within our industry and pledged our support for a workplace and community free from harassment and fear.

Respect in Security was founded by a group of cybersecurity professionals who have decided to take a stand against all forms of harassment within the cybersecurity industry.

Respect in security conducted a poll of cybersecurity industry professionals (male, female and non-binary) across multiple age groups, organisation sizes and levels of seniority. 1/3 of respondents have had personal experience of harassment online.  Although 82% of those polled said their organisation has an anti-harassment policy and complaints procedure, nearly half (45%) argued that their employer should do more to ensure all employees understand what constitutes harassment and what acceptable behaviour looks like.  A further 40% said organisations need to improve the transparency of processes to show that any cases of harassment are acknowledged and investigated promptly.

At ramsac we are passionate about creating a workplace where everyone feels safe and supported this has led to us signing the Respect in Security pledge.

We pledge to;

• We will work to eliminate harassment, to include all employees, partners, customers, and interactions. Any form of harassment, even when not unlawful or directed at a protected category, will not be tolerated.
• We will not tolerate, condone, or ignore any form of harassment no matter where it occurs, or the personnel involved.
• We will ensure that staff members are not asked to operate in unsafe organisational or social environments.
• We will empower employees, contractors and third parties to come forward with reports without fear of retaliation, and to immediately and respectfully respond without prejudice. We recognise that those reporting harassment are not in any way disloyal to the company or the community, and that everyone deserves to work in a positive environment.
• We will protect the anonymity of those reporting suspected violations to the greatest extent reasonably possible.
• We will regularly educate employees and contractors what constitutes harassment and why it’s never acceptable, while continually maintaining and actively reviewing our policy and reporting mechanisms.
• We will regularly discuss reporting protocol with our employees and ensure that we make a public version of this protocol publicly available for external reference and use.

Rob May, Managing Director of ramsac and cybersecurity spokesperson commented “Harassment, whether online or in the workplace, is morally wrong and at its very worst can be fatal. Nobody should have to put up with the types of harassment and trolling we far too often see in the infosec world, and I encourage as many businesses in our industry as possible to come together to actively support the RIS Pledge and drive out this negative behaviour.”

You can find out more about the pledge and commit as a corporate partner here: https://respectinsecurity.org/