We often talk a lot about women succeeding in tech, especially cybersecurity, but far less about what it actually takes to grow a tech career while navigating motherhood.
In October 2021, Blessing Ezeobioha enrolled in a cybersecurity training program while still working as a social media manager and recovering from childbirth. This was a one-year intensive and practical training at Tech4Dev in her three months postpartum.
Starting in a new field while juggling motherhood tested everything she knew about endurance and focus. But, Blessing was resilient enough to build her tech career from 0-100, attaining a top leadership role within a few years.
“I didn’t enter cybersecurity from a perfect starting point. I came in through hunger, late nights, and the kind of stubborn hope you develop when you can’t afford to quit. That season rewired my identity. I was learning a new field, trying to prove myself in a technical space, and also learning motherhood all at once. It was exhausting,” She said.
In cybersecurity, wins are often invisible, but those invisible wins build confidence brick by brick. Today, Blessing is the Head Threat Intelligence Analyst at Teknowledge, a role she stepped into after starting as a Cybersecurity Analyst in October 2024.
In her early analyst role, she monitored and triaged over 100 security alerts weekly using Azure Sentinel, escalating critical incidents and tuning false positives.
Less than two years later, she moved into leadership, overseeing threat intelligence operations across financial services and critical infrastructure, defining intelligence requirements, and delivering weekly and monthly threat briefs to SOC leadership.
Stepping into leadership early was another defining moment for Blessing. Not because she felt ready, but because the work demanded it.
“I’ve led projects around threat intelligence, policy development, cloud migration, and security assessments. It forced me to move from ‘I’m learning’ to ‘I’m responsible.’ That shift is uncomfortable, but it’s where growth lives,” she said.
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How Blessing is building in Cybersecurity beyond systems
Growth, for Blessing, didn’t come quietly. To her, the hardest part of the journey was learning in front of everyone. This was by asking questions she thought she should already know and sitting with the discomfort of not always being right.
She admitted that being a woman in tech often comes with extra mental pressure, the constant feeling that you must be twice as excellent to be taken half as seriously. Over time, that pressure reshaped how she understands confidence.
“Confidence isn’t a personality trait. It’s evidence. You earn it by showing up repeatedly and doing the work, and you protect it by refusing to let shame narrate your story,” she said.
However, in an interview with Technext, Blessing expressed how her work gradually stopped being just about tools and alerts and started becoming about people. To her, cybersecurity in Africa is not simply a technical function; it is protection, trust, and everyday life intersecting with technology.
As startups and platforms scale across fintech, healthtech, edtech, and government services, she explained that risk grows at the same pace, yet many organisations still treat security as an afterthought.
“I’m focused on one core problem: reducing preventable harm. In Africa’s tech ecosystem, we’re building fast. The growth is exciting, but it also means we’re scaling risk at the same speed. So the problem I’m obsessed with solving is making security practical and normal, not fear-based or security theatre,” Blessing said.
She added that her goal is to build real security that protects everyday people: the customer whose bank account is tied to a phone number, the student using a school portal, the small business owner trusting an app with their payments.
Major skills to navigate life as a new mom in tech
Currently, Blessing is challenging the status quo that women are “not technical enough” or that they only succeed through soft skills.
Yes, communication and empathy are powerful skills to have. But women are also threat hunters, SOC analysts, cloud engineers, incident responders, and security architects. They build. They investigate. They lead.
“I also challenge the idea that you must be loud to be strong. Some women lead quietly, with consistency, precision, and results that speak for them. And I challenge the myth that you have to fit a certain look, personality, or background to belong here. Talent doesn’t have one accent. Excellence doesn’t have one story,” Blessing added.
Through every challenge, one of the major skills that helped her navigate life as a mom in a new tech industry is calm thinking under pressure.
“In SOC work, noise is constant. Alerts don’t stop because you’re tired. Incidents don’t wait until you feel ready. The ability to stay calm, prioritise, and move methodically is a superpower,” Blessing said.
She added that communication that respects people is also very important. Security isn’t just about tools. It’s people, decisions, and consequences. If you can’t explain risk clearly, you can’t lead a response. If you can’t write clean reports, you can’t drive change. If you can’t collaborate, you can’t win.
Learning stamina is also another major skill, Blessing said.
“This field rewards the people who can keep learning even when they’re busy, even when they’re overwhelmed, even when nobody is clapping. Certifications helped me (like SC-900,200), but the greater skill is staying curious and disciplined.”
Final thoughts
Looking back, Blessing believes that the biggest turning point in her career was not entering cybersecurity but choosing to remain when it became difficult. Taking responsibility early, applying for roles that felt intimidating, and continuing despite life realities gradually turned effort into momentum.
“It was staying when it got hard that changed everything. Learning became momentum, and momentum became a career.” Blessing said.
She credits the community for making that possible — mentors, peers, and training groups that answered questions when she was still finding her voice.
For young women hoping to follow a similar path, here is her advice:
1. Start where you are, with what you have. You don’t need the perfect laptop, the perfect mentor, or the perfect plan. You need consistency. 2. Do small things daily. Build proof, not just passion. Take notes, do labs, write short case studies, and document what you learn. Your portfolio will speak when your confidence shakes. 3. Learn fundamentals deeply. Trends change. Fundamentals pay rent. 4. Stop waiting to be “chosen.” Apply. Speak. Volunteer. Contribute. Publish. Your future will not arrive through permission. 5. Protect your mind. Imposter syndrome is loud in this industry. Don’t negotiate with it. Keep moving. Your growth is allowed to be messy. 6. Find your people. Community will keep you steady when motivation is gone. 7. Let your story be human. You can be brilliant and still be tired. You can be ambitious and still be healing. You can build a career and still be building yourself. None of that disqualifies you. It makes you real.
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