According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, there were 65,829 male engineering graduates in 2011-2012, while there were only 15,553 female engineering graduates. In that same year, there were 10,723 male mathematics and statistics graduates, while there were only 8,119 of their female counterparts.

We believe that these statistics point to a larger problem; not that women are not scientifically inclined, but that they are not encouraged to explore their interests in science, or are simply told that "science isn't for girls" or "girls are bad at math." The goals of Project Athena are to get young girls excited about science and to provide a societal framework that encourages them to pursue their interests and show the world that science and math aren't just for boys anymore.

For further reading on women in science, please check out these two excellent articles from NPR on when women stopped coding and the gender disparity between college majors.