Inspirational Women in Life Sciences - Gillian Fairfield, Cancer Research UK

For our fifth interview in our annual Inspirational Women in Life Sciences Series, Rebecca Lawrence, a patent litigation partner at DLA Piper is delighted to introduce Gillian Fairfield, General Counsel of Life Sciences and Research at Cancer Research UK (CRUK).

Gillian discusses her current role and the journey that led her to CRUK, describing the path as non-linear.

“I think it’s easy to look back and make your career sound linear and well planned out, like every step you took had a purpose and it yielded that purpose. But the truth is it wasn’t like that at all. And I think like most people, I’ve spent many moments thinking, is this the right thing for me to be doing? Am I doing the right sort of work? Is it going to lead to where I want it to lead?”

Acknowledging the pressure to only do things we feel passionate about or that have significant impact, she notes that this sets a high bar. That instead we allow ourselves the freedom to explore new directions, that we might not know what we are passionate about until we try it.

When asked about barriers that women face, Gillian reflected that while the world has changed since she started her career, biases persist that we should be aware of. One example is from the deals space, where there is a stereotype that women lack logical, analytical minds. Another from the scientific community, where there is concern that scientists returning from maternity leave may no longer be at the cutting edge due to the rapid pace of change. She also stresses the importance of improving STEM uptake in schools to ensure a robust reservoir of scientific knowledge. To illustrate this, in 2023, 31% of core STEM students in higher education in the UK were women or non-binary, up from 25% in 2015.¹ Progress has been made, but we have a long way to go.

Finally, Gillian celebrates that the industry is populated with highly intelligent, but grounded individuals, a space where there is no room for bravado.

“This is an industry where credibility is key, It’s rigorous and it’s analytical.”

By fostering this culture of rigorous analysis and credibility, we can pave the way for future scientific breakthroughs, and inspire and empower the next generation of leaders and thinkers.

*All participants are speaking in their personal capacity and not as clients of DLA Piper or as representatives of their company or organisation.