To celebrate the immense contribution of women to Cambridge's achievements over centuries, Cambridge University Library is proud to host a portrait exhibition formed of a mixture of historic and contemporary paintings and photographs, borrowed from Cambridge Colleges, as well as artists and institutions further afield, such as the National Portrait Gallery and the Museum of London.

Newly commissioned for the exhibition is a painting of female scientists working on lung stem cell research at the Gurdon Institute, by artist Caroline Walker.

A highlight of the display is a portrait of Baroness Hale of Richmond. The first female Justice and President of the UK’s Supreme Court, Baroness Hale became a household name in September 2019 when, as President, she delivered the Supreme Court’s unanimous verdict quashing Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s prorogation of Parliament.

An extraordinary Cambridge alumna, Baroness Hale studied Law at Girton College, graduating top in her class. She specialised in Family Law, has played a significant role in landmark reforms, and has been noted as a pioneer in raising awareness around the lack of diversity in the judiciary.

Another inspirational portrait on display is Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell's, an astrophysicist who, as a postgraduate student at Murray Edwards College (then New Hall), discovered the first radio pulsars in 1967 – an iconic moment in 20th century astronomy.

Since her discovery, Bell Burnell has remained heavily involved in astronomy and science education and has become a role model and inspiration for female scientists around the world.

In 2018, she was awarded the Special Breakthrough Prize, in Fundamental Physics, from which she donated her entire £2.3 million prize money to the Institute of Physics to fund women, underrepresented ethnic minorities, and refugees to become physics researchers.

Nancy Lane Perham, the founding Director of the Women in Science and Engineering Initiative (WiSETI), is a successful cell biologist and a Fellow at Girton College since 1968.

The Rising Tide: Women at Cambridge exhibition takes its name from the influential 1994 Cabinet Office report The Rising Tide, which discussed the progression of women in science, engineering and technology – of which Nancy Lane Perham was Chair.

She was also a co-founder of the Athena project, an initiative established in 1999 to advance and promote the careers of women in science, engineering and technology (SET) in higher education and research.

Meanwhile, in October 2019, Sonita Alleyne became the first woman to lead Jesus College since its foundation in 1496.

Her appointment coincides with the College’s 40th anniversary of co-education and marks a record high in women senior leaders across the collegiate University. A recently commissioned photograph of Sonita features in the display.

The story of Mary Paley Marshall (1850 – 1944) is one of firsts; in 1871, Mary was awarded a scholarship to become one of the first five students at Newnham College, Cambridge’s second women’s college, following the establishment of Girton in 1869.

In 1874, she was one of the first two women to take the University’s Moral Sciences Tripos and, although women were unable to receive degrees at this time, this was a true milestone in the history of women’s education.

In 1875, Mary became the University’s first residential female lecturer in economics and, in 1890, she was one of the first 11 members of the Ladies Dining Society, a private women's discussion club that championed women’s education and campaigned to grant degrees to women at Cambridge.

Despite her activism, Mary’s husband was publicly opposed to women's education and wrote pamphlets and letters objecting to a mixed university. Mary, however, remained unfazed by her husband’s opposition.