Our Collective Responsibility to Drive Meaningful Change

My passion to mentor women and promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace stems from my first days entering the workforce nearly 25 years ago. It feels like just yesterday I was eagerly starting my career as an associate product manager in the medtech sector. But after several months in the role, I remember feeling alone and a bit misunderstood as one of the only females on the marketing team.

A woman enjoying a successful career in marketing and product management is not uncommon. However, female representation in senior leadership roles for medtech companies is. Despite countless studies proving that diversity is great for a company’s performance and for connecting with its customers, the lack of diversity in the workplace still remains a major problem. As leaders, it’s our collective responsibility to deliver change by backing our vision for a diverse workforce with meaningful actions.

Over the course of my career, I have been fortunate to work for leaders and companies that understand the value of diverse teams and have been committed to establishing resources and programs to support D&I.

FUJIFILM Sonosite recently initiated Women in Sonosite (WINS), a program designed to empower driven diverse individuals. Each month we host a webinar where speakers share advice and rising diverse leaders within the company are recognized. The company also recently formed a Diversity and Inclusion council.

My goal to help women goes beyond my work at FUJIFILM Sonosite too. In 2010, I joined several of my former Guidant colleagues in their efforts to launch MedtechWomen, a nonprofit designed to highlight, connect, educate, and inspire women in medtech. To date, we’ve hosted 42 events highlighting diverse, talented women. Our annual MedtechVision conference has sold out every year, with more than 200 attendees. I’m also proud of the work the leadership team and I are doing at AdvaMed Women’s Executive Network (WEN), an industry-wide initiative aimed at creating a better future for medtech through diversity, specifically by elevating women leaders.

So many of my accomplishments arose as a result of the commitment of my mentors, and it’s my duty to pay it forward for women of the next generation. If today’s leaders support building a diverse pipeline of talent, we will succeed in creating a more inclusive future. What a wonderful COLLECTIVE opportunity we have in front of us!