Microsoft and CPX, a G42 company, have launched the second edition of a program to train and employ young Emirati women in cybersecurity, with backing from the UAE Cybersecurity Council.
The program, called She Protects, prepares recent Emirati university graduates for careers in cybersecurity. Its first edition graduated 50 women in June 2026 after a six-month curriculum. The second cohort will be far larger, targeting 150 women drawn from universities across the UAE, three times the size of the first group.
Applications for this second cohort open later this month, with the program itself running from November 2026 until April 2027.
What the training covers
Participants will work toward Microsoft's SC-900 Security, Compliance and Identity Fundamentals certification alongside comprehensive cyber awareness training. CPX will deliver threat landscape training, and Cyberbit will run immersive, simulation-based cyber labs.
CPX CEO Hadi Anwar said the program was designed to go beyond passive coursework. "The plan was to make sure that it is not just a fluffy kind of instructor-led online training," he said.
Why the focus on women
Anwar pointed to the industry's gender imbalance as the reason behind the initiative. "Cybersecurity is a very male-oriented field. We want to do things to help change that narrative," he said.
He also described a mismatch between demand and available talent in the sector. "Cybersecurity is an area where there are ample jobs, but not real experts available in the market," Anwar said.
Results from the first cohort
Some graduates of the first She Protects cohort have already been hired at major technology companies, including Microsoft itself, according to the program partners.
The expansion to 150 participants suggests the partners see room to scale the model further as they look to place more Emirati women into cybersecurity roles across the country's growing tech and security sectors.
Reported by Khaleej Times.
