The campaign with the slogan "Science: it's a girl thing" was launched by the Commission on 21 of June with the aim at getting more girls interested in science and encourage more women to choose research as a career. The three year campaign will seek to get teenage girls interested in studying science, technology, engineering and maths.

The European Commission launched the campaign "Science: it's a girl thing" to get more teenage girls in secondary education more interested in science. The campaign will challenge stereotypes of science and show young girls and women that science is fun and can provide great opportunities. A second phase will aim at encouraging female students to pursue scientific careers. As it was reported in 2011, girls outperform boys in reading, and boys account for most early school leavers.

Among other things, the European Commission will challenge outdated views of science careers and show how contemporary research practices are connected with societal needs. Research and innovation are the key to finding concrete solutions to common challenges, such as food and energy security, the environment and climate change, or better healthcare. Established female scientists will act as role models in the media and at dedicated events and workshops.

Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Research, Innovation and Science Commissioner, considers that science offers fantastic career opportunities and the chance to make a real difference to our society and our future. She also added that the under-representation of women in a sector so vital to our economy does not make sense at a time when Europe is fighting for more growth and jobs. The campaign comes at a time when the European Commission has proposed Horizon 2020, a programme that would increase EU-level support for research and innovation to €80 billion for the period 2014-2020, from €55 billion in the current seven-year budget.