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A new website dedicated to media-friendly female experts has been launched in the wake of an embarrassing failure by the BBC to find a woman analyst to debate breast cancer treatment on Radio 4.

John Humphrys, presenter of the Today programme, was reduced during an on-air discussion last week to asking a male contributor to imagine that he was a woman because no female experts had been available. Caroline Criado-Perez, a freelance journalist and blogger, immediately took to Twitter and found several female experts within minutes. “Again and again, the BBC doesn’t try hard enough,” she said. “Seemingly, it doesn’t think fair representation is particularly important.” This weekend Criado-Perez, 28, is overseeing the official launch of thewomensroom.org.uk. She and her co-founder, Catherine Smith, hope the website will become a constantly expanding register of women who have personal experiences to relate and relevant expertise. A trial run last week, as Women Unite, was an immediate success as more than 40 women signed up in 48 hours, with expertise in standup comedy, entrepreneurship, new media, personal finance, domestic violence, trade unions and feminism. Criado-Perez and Smith hope that female virtuosos of engineering, motor racing, science, maths, medicine and bridge building will eventually come forward or be nominated.

[Read more: guardian and find the link to sign up here.]