Women in male-dominated careers: a 2014 calendar – in pictures

Beshlie Pool, marine officer at the Marine Management Organisation: “I used to get up half an hour early before walking to school to take the litter off the beach, of my own free will. My mum thought I was a bit of a hippie, so she instilled good environmental and social values in me.” Photograph: Leonora Saunders

Dany Cotton, assistant commissioner at the Fire Service: “Three months after I completed my training in 1988, I attended the Clapham train crash where 31 people lost their lives. The guys I trained with saw me in the newspapers and I think they became more respectful.” Photograph: Leonora Saunders

Dawn Lakin, traffic officer at the Highways Agency: “It is important to have a good rapport with the people you work with. In my experience there are those who accept you as an equal and those who get protective because you are a female.” Photograph: Leonora Saunders

Kate Moran, operational analyst at the Defence Science and Technology Lab: “My job here is looking at questions like what does the Ministry of Defence need in the future and what sort of challenges are going to come up that science and technology might help meet?” Photograph: Leonora Saunders

Lindsay Chapman, senior research scientist at the National Physical Laboratory: “I joke with my colleagues that if you can explain your science to children of different ages, you’re likely to be better equipped to explain it to policymakers. Scientists need to demystify their work.” Photograph: Leonora Saunders

Sara Scuffell, air traffic controller at the London City Airport: “It’s one of those jobs you get so much pleasure from – when you’re plugged in and everything is moving the way you want it to and everybody is getting a good service.” Photograph: Leonora Saunders

Laurence Hamai, public health engineer at Oxfam. The proceeds from the sale of this calendar will be used to support a Prospect and Oxfam project to enhance the employment conditions of itinerant domestic workers in the slums of Nairobi. Photograph: Leonora Saunders