In October 2019 I co-founded the Piscopia Initiative (piscopia.co.uk) to encourage women and non-binary students to pursue a PhD in mathematics. There is a startlingly low amount of female math professors in the UK. Despite the fact that 40% of UK graduates in the mathematical sciences are female, only 6% of them go on to be professors [LMS report, 2013].

We addressed this issue by hosting a PiFORUM conference and PhD information events at universities throughout Scotland in 2019-2020. Along the way we gained support from a variety of organisations: the Clinton Foundation, International Centre for Mathematical Sciences (ICMS), London Mathematical Society (LMS), Maplesoft, University of Edinburgh, and Edinburgh Mathematical Society (EMS). And received over >6000£ funding.

At the start of this academic year, me and my fellow co-lead, extended the scheme to go UK-wide and launched local Piscopia committees at 11 UK universities. We also set up a PiWORKS monthly seminar series featuring women researchers from across the UK working in diverse areas of mathematics.

In November, I will host PiDOORS, an afternoon of talks by women who have a PhD in mathematics and who are currently working in industry.

By the end of this academic year, we hope to have self-sufficient local Piscopia committees, who are able to recruit new members to continue the legacy of the initiative and are confident in hosting successful events.