Approximately a quarter of all professional Astronomers are women. The field continues to attract women and benefits from their participation, but there is wide geographical diversity, with some countries having none and other countries having more than 50% female professional astronomers. These numbers drop towards more senior levels, suggesting that scientific careers are heavily affected by social and cultural factors, and are not determined solely by ability.

The 'She is an Astronomer' website was launched at the European Astronomy and Space Science meeting (20 - 23 April 2009), held at Hatfield, UK.

'She is an Astronomer' is a Cornerstone Project of the International Year of Astronomy 2009