The Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Young Academy of Scotland has recently launched a new initiative to inspire women to strive for the top jobs in higher education by showcasing the careers of successful female academics. A booklet – Women in Academia Now, edited by Aileen Fyfe, Ineke De Moortel and Sharon Ashbrook, has been published detailing the career paths of female members of the Young Academy of Scotland. ‘The brochure aims to facilitate and inspire further discussion and study about the career progression of women in different disciplines across the entire range of academic disciplines. By focusing on the mid-career stage, it offers a set of role models for early career researchers, many of whom still harbour doubts about whether academia is a good career for women.’