As we've grown, so have our efforts to recruit, support, and promote women and ethnically diverse talent in science, healthcare, engineering, and beyond.
Growing up as a Black girl with a life-threatening illness, Bre Jacobs found herself in a revolving door of doctors’ offices — but none of the healthcare professionals ever looked like her. To understand her condition, reduce the stress on her family, and take control of her own health, Bre dove into medical journals. Doing so sparked a passion for scientific knowledge that drives Bre to this day. Now a Medtronic Senior Research Program Manager and Medtronic Technical Fellow, Bre still can’t help but wonder: "Where would I be if, earlier on, I had met someone like me in this field? What can I do now to encourage more women in science — to help others break down the hurdles I faced?”
The ability to see yourself represented is a powerful push to succeed in a career. Unfortunately, women, Black, and Hispanic workers tend to be underrepresented in most science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) positions.1
Each of our employees contributes an inspiring wealth of life experiences, perspectives, and talents that further our Mission to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life for people around the world. We know that the more diverse the team developing our lifesaving technologies, the better able we can meet the needs of all patients. Our efforts include improving representation within our heavily science-based organization and working to level the playing field for diverse talent across our industry.
Herinaina Rabarimanantsoa, a Medtronic Principal R & D Engineer, worked with a small, diverse team of engineers to develop a new device. Rabarimanantsoa quickly saw just how important diversity was in product design. “We designed a medical device that involved a hub that needed to be held and turned. One of my male colleagues thought the design was fine, but I have smaller hands. When I tried to turn the hub, it was incredibly difficult. So, we redesigned it to work for both smaller and larger hands.”
Like so many others, this story reminds us that we wouldn’t be where we are today without women. As our company evolves, so do our gender-equity efforts. From inclusive product design to developing world-changing innovations, women in science offer invaluable insight and perspective every day.
We believe that what you measure, you meet. We have clear goals for things like pay equity and diverse representation and are transparent about our progress. From women representing 50% of our global workforce to representing 40% of management, we exceed medical technology industry averages across the board.
Back in the day, you were just one of the guys. But looking back, I see it could have been different. And now I’m trying to pay it forward alongside other women in science and engineering.”— Nancy Brainerd, Senior Engineering Director, Medtronic
Jessica Weber, an engineering manager at Medtronic, attended the Career Fair at the Annual Society of Women Engineers Conference
Our Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) initiative focuses on advancing women in engineering and science roles. From building career development toolkits to getting involved with local STEM communities, WISE works to foster an inclusive work environment for women in a field that continues to be predominantly male.
Through outreach programs, WISE helps young women overcome career hurdles such as a lack of role models or biased gatekeepers. Events at middle schools and high schools also give rise to new, creative opportunities to show young women of color what a STEM career could look like.
To bring more women into engineering and scientific roles, we offer competitive college and high-school internships. Many participants go on to become full-time employees, where new-hire programs help them grow and connect to opportunities.
Everyone always asked how they could improve my experience and further help my professional development.”— Eleni, Medtronic Intern, University of Colorado Boulder
Ashanti Terry remembers exactly where he was when he realized he wanted to get into computer programming to help people — getting his student ID photo taken at Albany State University.
In that moment, just starting out at the Historically Black College and University (HBCU), he had no idea that he was about to be introduced to healthcare technology through the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF).
Through the TMCF internship program, Medtronic hires HBCU students studying STEM into summer internships, provides development opportunities, and ultimately aims to hire them full-time — creating an early-career pipeline of diverse talent.
Ashanti Terry (right), a software engineer at Medtronic, speaking alongside former Medtronic TMCF interns
Terry, now a software engineer in our Pelvic Health business, is one of dozens of TMCF interns Medtronic has hired since the partnership’s inception in 2020.
“I have a different perspective as an African American man. If everyone is the same, then we won’t have diverse thinking coming in, and we won’t grow. We’ll stagnate,” Terry said. “That’s important, and TMCF is partnering with Medtronic to fix that. They’re working to get more voices like me in the room.”
Different people face different barriers in their life journey, including real barriers to education — especially when you consider that fewer than half of U.S. adults have a college degree.2 We know that degree requirements can be a barrier to talented candidates, including ethnically diverse groups and veterans, when it comes to advancing their careers. We’re taking action to improve representation in our industry, rising from our commitment to have employees who reflect the people we’re trying to serve — patients all over the world. Our initiatives to reduce barriers to STEM education and career advancement include:
Programs like this allow students to gain valuable industry knowledge, build professional connections, and grow a sense of community. The added support from mentors has enabled me to come into this position at Medtronic with confidence.”— Jacquelyne, Medtronic SHPE intern, The University of Texas at El Paso
Candi Sneed always wanted to be an engineer. While she ended up pursuing a career in business operations and project management, her passion was reignited after joining Medtronic five years ago.
“I found myself working with some of the most extraordinary people, especially these amazing women engineers,” said Candi, who works as a Senior Analyst at our facility in Tempe, Arizona.
When Medtronic launched the Medtronic Advancement Pathways and Skill-building (MAPS) program, Candi jumped at the opportunity. “I was excited because there were no upfront costs. It was a game-changer for me,” she said. This benefit became especially important after Candi's husband lost his job. “I would've had to quit if it wasn't for MAPS fully covering my tuition. Because of that, I was able to stay on course and complete my journey. I truly have no words for how much that meant to me and my family,” she said.
Today, Candi is among the first group of MAPS graduates, and obtained her bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University in 2023. And the best part of her experience?
“My 11-year-old daughter wants to be a software engineer and my teenage son wants to design lifesaving equipment for first responders,” she said. “I am thankful to be that first link in our chain of future engineers.”
Our commitment to — and progress toward — zero barriers to equity has not gone unnoticed. Being recognized for our efforts is a testament to the powerful impact we can make when we use the full strength of our company to drive meaningful, sustainable change. We are honored to be recognized across the globe by world-class organizations. The awards here represent a sample of the recognition we received for our 2023 ID&E efforts:
Medtronic leaders accepting recognition as #2 on the Top 50 Companies for Diversity
If you want to develop women, they have to be allowed to show up as who they are.”— Bre Jacobs, Senior Research Program Manager and Medtronic Technical Fellow, Medtronic
Bre Jacobs, a Medtronic Senior Research Program Manager and Medtronic Technical Fellow
Bre Jacobs commits to being the example that could have made a difference in her life earlier, as she worked tirelessly to get her seat at the table and always welcomed others. Jacobs has been awarded 22 U.S. patents and successfully leads award-winning, cross-functional teams to new discoveries. Beyond her day-to-day work, she participates in groups that include the African Descent Network, Black Engineers at Medtronic (BE@M), and Medtronic Women’s Network and constantly uses her scientific expertise and empathy to encourage other women.
Expertise and perspective from leaders in science roles like Jacobs keep us competitive as a company and improve health for more patients in our global communities. We know that the work toward equity is incomplete and that women and ethnically diverse talent continue to face unique challenges. But the more inclusion, diversity, and equity we can foster and the more we can celebrate diversity in STEM, the greater our impact becomes.
