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Jane Clarke is the Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Senior Wellcome Trust Research Fellow in the Department of Chemistry. She began her career in science as a teacher in a comprehensive school. She later moved with her family to the USA, where she took a master’s degree that kick-started her new career in research.

I don’t like unfairness in a system. I think education, training and aspiration are things that everybody deserves. It’s political and I’m a feminist through and through.

Feminism is about fairness and equality; it means that we should organise our society in such a way that it shouldn’t matter what your gender is, it shouldn’t matter what your marital status is, it shouldn’t matter what your parentage is.

I’m very tough and self-reliant and have always drawn on the incredible example set by my mother. She was the first person in our family to have a degree – both my grandfathers were colliers. Even during the war and even though her own mum had died, my mother still managed to go to university in Cardiff. I admired her so much and I still do. It’s my regret that she never saw me get my PhD; she’d have loved it.

“Being a woman means I am a role model, like it or not.”

I didn’t fit the pre-defined norm of an academic from the outset. I was a teacher before I did a part-time masters degree and fell for research. It was so exciting – the not knowing, problem solving and following your nose when you’ve got an idea. It’s the best job in the world being a research scientist. But when I first approached the Biochemistry Department at Cambridge about continuing my research, they said ‘You’re forty years old, you’ve got two children, you’re joking, go away.’ Fortunately I had an introduction to Alan Fersht who was the world’s leading protein chemist. He gave me a chance and a first foot on the ladder.

This is seen as a man’s career. Being a woman means I am a role model, like it or not. If you give a bad lecture and they only have two lectures by women a year, then the message is, women are useless lecturers so we don’t need more women. As Deputy Head of the department I try to use my influence to bring about a real cultural change, but it’s hard and it can also be lonely with so few women in the department.

An academic career is very pressurised; you apply for grants and if you don’t get them it can put your career under threat as well as other people’s jobs on the line. I’ve also had to cope with significant challenges in my personal life. Having friends pays real dividends when you’re under pressure. You need people who understand, people who you mentor and can mentor you in return. When you find friends that you can really talk to, treasure them.

“I’ve done it in such a way that I can hold my head up and say that I never trampled on anybody.”

I judge people based on how they behave and what they achieve scientifically – not the trappings of importance, like the size of their office. You can be a successful scientist whilst recognising that you have young people in your care who deserve your support, your mentoring and proper training. These young people are not cannon fodder to be thrown in to do your research, regardless of their own needs. There can be too much of that in academia – it’s highly competitive and it’s tough sometimes.

I was delighted when I became a professor – my dad was thrilled to bits, my kids were delighted, my group were delighted. It was an acknowledgement of success and that’s okay. But what matters most to me is my scientific opinion being held in respect by people whose own scientific judgement I value. I am one of the world leaders in my field and I’m tremendously proud of that. And I’ve done it in such a way that I can hold my head up and say that I never trampled on anybody. I’ve also done it starting late, in an unusual way, and I think that’s something to be proud of. It shows that there’s more than one way of having a successful scientific career, and you should never be told otherwise. I’ve done it with the love and support of my family, doing my full share of being a mother and a wife and a friend to my friends. I’ve got two kids and they’re really nice people, they’re great parents and I’m proud of them. This balance also means that now I’m facing retirement, I know that there are other things to life beyond my career.