March 5, 2020 -- Medtronic is proud to be an official partner of International Women’s Day (IWD), which honors the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women — and encourages gender equity. This year’s theme, #EachforEqual, focuses on increasing visibility, while taking action for equity.

Through a culture of inclusion, Medtronic fosters a vibrant, healthy, and diverse community that reflects the world in which its global employees live and work. Women play a vital role within the company, and Medtronic leaders are committed to accelerating their progress on several fronts. Learn more about how Medtronic is elevating women leaders.

"Our Medtronic Mission is rooted in innovation and calls on us to recognize the personal worth of all employees,” said Dr. Sally Saba, Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer at Medtronic. “One of the ways we do this is by enabling women to excel in all areas of their lives, creating clear pathways for both career advancement and easy integration back into the workforce."

Long-standing commitment to gender equity

Medtronic was one of three companies this year to earn the prestigious 2020 Catalyst Award, which is given to corporations driving global change by building workplaces that work for women. To earn the award, a company must agree to a rigorous examination of its policies and complete several on-site interviews with the nonprofit Catalyst organization, which has honored only 89 organizations since 1987.

Other notable achievements in 2019 included:

• In the aggregate, Medtronic global pay equity by job title was 99%, which means for every $1 earned by men, women in the same job earn 99 cents. Medtronic achieved $1 for $1 pay equity for gender by job title in several countries, including the United States. 
• Women represented 38% of management level or above roles globally, tracking well toward the company’s 2020 goal of 40% or more.
• Of nearly 17,000 new employees, 52% were women.

“If we are to encourage girls, from an early age, to be who they want to be in this lifetime, we have to create an environment that is an equal playing field, for everybody,” said Dr. Sylvia Bartley, Senior Director of Philanthropy at the Medtronic Foundation. “We really need to raise the awareness around the status of women in the workplace — not just in the United States or Western Europe — but also in those markets where women are not seen as equal.”