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ScienceGrrl is a network of female scientists who are passionate about passing on their love of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to the next generation. ScienceGrrl was born as a response to the widely criticised video used by the European Commission to launch their ‘Science: it’s a girl thing’ campaign, which featured neither female scientists nor science. We thought it was a missed opportunity to highlight the diversity of women active within STEM. Here at ScienceGrrl, we think that using real role models who are real scientists and having a great time in the process is not only more realistic but actually more exciting and attractive than some pretty illusion that looks like a cosmetics advert. Our first project is the ScienceGrrl 2013 calendar, which features interesting images of female scientists doing fascinating science, in partnership with their male colleagues.

At ScienceGrrl, we are not only working to show the female face of science, but we’re also raising money for projects that will inspire the next generation of girls and young women to engage with science and consider following in our footsteps and achieve even greater things. We’ve identified one project so far, funding Breakthrough: the Gender Stereotypes Project to develop primary school lessons that challenge gender stereotypes, particularly those surrounding science. We are actively seeking more opportunities, and we are open to suggestions.

ScienceGrrl believes that each person has something unique to offer the world and that science is for everyone, irrespective of gender or background. Therefore, the under-representation of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics indicates that there are many women whose full potential to excel in these fields remains untapped – they have not been able to stretch themselves in this direction and discover the full range of their talents. I hope the investment of the proceeds from this calendar, and the host of positive role models who will remain accessible via the ScienceGrrl network, will go some way to redressing that.

Meet the real women behind ScienceGrrl:
The ScienceGrrl executive committee tell us what motivated them to sign up to the project and who inspired them in their career in science. [F1000 Faculty Member Anna Zecharia features.]