diversity and inclusion Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

Medtronic reports diversity gains and a larger manufacturing footprint

A year-over-year comparison of Medtronic’s latest annual report shows an increase in gender and racial diversity, a larger manufacturing and research footprint and some big moves in its manufacturing locations ranking.

A Medtronic employee checks inventory in Galway, Ireland, where the device maker has significant manufacturing operations. [Photo courtesy of Medtronic]

Medtronic reported gains for women and ethnic diversity in its workforce at the end of its fiscal year, which ended in April 2023

The world’s largest medical device company said in its newly released annual report that women now make up 51% of its global workforce, up from 50% at the end of fiscal 2022.

Diversity in medtech: 2022 markedly the best for women in medtech

Ethnic diversity among Medtronic’s U.S. workers climbed to 40% from 38% a year ago, including 28% of U.S. managers. Medtronic als…

Abbott expands initiative to increase diversity in clinical trials

Abbott (NYSE:ABT) announced a new series of programs within its multi-million-dollar initiative to increase diversity in clinical trials and improve care in under-represented populations.

The additions to Abbott’s “Diversity in Clinical Trials” initiative build on partnerships, scholarships and the focus on diversified patients. Abbott applied these to its own clinical trials throughout the initiative’s first year. Within that first year, the company established a Diversity in Clinical Trials Medical Advisory Board. Through $5 million in grants, it also sponsored more than 300 scholarships at four historically black colleges and university (HBCU) medical schools, plus the National Black Nurses Association and National Association of Hispanic Nurses.

Within this program expansion, Abbott launched a new initiative with the Norton Healthcare Foundation. It aims to build and implement new models of sustainable clinical research alongside the…

Johnson & Johnson MedTech’s leader is AdvaMed’s new chair

Johnson & Johnson MedTech EVP and Worldwide Chair Ashley McEvoy [Photo courtesy of Johnson & Johnson]AdvaMed announced today that it has named Ashley McEvoy, EVP of MedTech at Johnson & Johnson, as its new chair.

The group’s board of directors unanimously elected McEvoy as its chair during its quarterly meeting yesterday. She is the first woman to serve as chair at the major U.S. medical technology trade association, which was founded in 1974. (Pam Bailey, who is board chair at medtech contract manufacturing giant Integer, was AdvaMed’s CEO from 1999 to 2005.)

McEvoy succeeds Abiomed’s former CEO Michael Minogue. She starts a two-year term as board chair at the same time that major medtech companies such as Johnson & Johnson face a host of challenges. Health provider customers in the U.S. and elsewhere are grappling with staffing shortages and operational challenges. There are macroeconomic headwinds, and the Chinese government is seeki…

October 2022 Issue: Women in Medtech

Rachel Ellingson is driving Zimmer Biomet toward new tech

What Laura Mauri learned from a ‘firestorm’ in her first months at Medtronic

How Medline maintains quality while innovating and growing

How a wrist-worn device treats essential tremor

Diversity in medtech: 2022 markedly the best for women in medtech

Diverse executive teams bring more innovation to medtech Diversifying the executive suite is more than just a push for representation — it helps bring more diverse ideas to the table to innovate for more than half of the global population.

The leadership gap in the medical device industry closes slightly every year, but women still account for less than a quarter of executive roles, according to our annual analysis in this Women in Medtech edition of Medical Design & Outsourcing.

Women hold just 23% of executive roles at the top 100 medical device companies, up 2 percentage points since 2021. After Accuray and Ambu appointed f…

Johnson & Johnson shareholders approve racial justice audit proposal

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) investors voted in support of a proposal for a third-party racial justice audit at the annual shareholder meeting.

It was the only shareholder proposal to pass at yesterday’s annual meeting, where investors also considered proposals to discontinue global sales of baby powder containing talc, to study the public health costs of protecting COVID-19 vaccine technology, and to include legal and compliance costs in executive pay metrics.

The vote is only advisory, so it doesn’t require Johnson & Johnson to take action, but it sends a strong signal from investors that they view racial justice as a business matter.

Get the full story at our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.

Johnson & Johnson shareholders approve racial justice audit proposal

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) investors voted in support of a proposal for a third-party racial justice audit at the annual shareholder meeting.

It was the only shareholder proposal to pass at yesterday’s annual meeting, where investors also considered proposals to discontinue global sales of baby powder containing talc, to study the public health costs of protecting COVID-19 vaccine technology, and to include legal and compliance costs in executive pay metrics.

The vote is only advisory, so it doesn’t require Johnson & Johnson to take action, but it sends a strong signal from investors that they view racial justice as a business matter.

A similar proposal in 2021 had significant support. Johnson & Johnson opposed the proposals both years, saying the company already makes diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) part of its credo and core values.

Corporate Secretary Matthew Orlando announced the proposal’s passage at the close…

MDO wins honors from American Society of Business Publication Editors

Judges reviewed the March and May 2021 editions of Medical Design & Outsourcing before awarding the publication with a design award. [Cover designs by Matt Claney/MDO]

Medical Design & Outsourcing received awards for design and content at the American Society of Business Publication Editors’ 2022 Azbee Awards of Excellence yesterday.

The annual awards program honors outstanding work by U.S.-based business-to-business, trade, association and professional publications, including magazines, websites, email newsletters, social media and blogs. The organization calls its awards program “one of the most competitive” in publishing.

Art Director Matt Claney won a regional silver award for magazine design and was a national finalist. Judges considered the March 2021 and May 2021 editions of MDO.

“MDO showcases the ability to cover everything from hot topics such as post-COVI…

Johnson & Johnson faces another ballot battle on racial equity audit

Johnson & Johnson is fighting another shareholder proposal for an independent racial equality audit of the company.

New Brunswick, New Jersey–based J&J (NYSE:JNJ) defeated a similar measure at last year’s annual meeting of shareholders, though the vote was far from a landslide. The company also unsuccessfully petitioned the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to keep it off the ballot.

Now, an independent audit is again up for consideration at the April 28 annual meeting after surviving another J&J appeal to the SEC.

Proponents of the audit cite ongoing controversies over talcum powder allegedly marketed to minorities. They also point to the J&J Political Action Committee’s financial support of Republican members of Congress who voted to overturn President Joe Biden’s election after insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol.

“Perhaps not since the civil rights era of the 1960s have citizens spoken with a…

Abbott pledges funding to increase clinical trial diversity

A researcher at the Morehouse School of Medicine [Photo courtesy of Morehouse School of Medicine]Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) today announced $5 million in scholarships to promote diversity in the next generation of clinical trial leaders as part of an initiative to improve healthcare for all.

The Abbott Park, Illinois-based developer and manufacturer of medical devices and drugs said its initiative also includes forming the Diversity in Research Medical Advisory Board, funding improved access for women and under-represented communities in Abbott trials, and convening patient advocates, industry experts, trialists and physicians to develop and share ways to increase clinical trial diversity.

Get the full story at our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.

Abbott pledges funding to increase clinical trial diversity

A researcher at the Morehouse School of Medicine [Photo courtesy of Morehouse School of Medicine]

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) today announced $5 million in scholarships to promote diversity in the next generation of clinical trial leaders as part of an initiative to improve health care for all.

The Abbott Park, Illinois-based developer and manufacturer of medical devices and drugs said its initiative also includes forming the Diversity in Research Medical Advisory Board, funding improved access for women and under-represented communities in Abbott trials, and convening patient advocates, industry experts, trialists and physicians to develop and share ways to increase clinical trial diversity.

The FDA has encouraged more gender and ethnic/cultural diversity in clinical trials to improve the safety and efficacy of medical products for all who will use them, but factors like trust, site access and commun…

7 ways to ensure your medical device product design isn’t biased

Correcting unintentional biases in medical device product design is a big step toward improving equity in medtech.

[Image from Pixabay]Achuta Kadambi, an assistant professor at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, says when looking at bias in medical devices, there’s often a lot of narrative in the media of what it is. However, it’s also important to address what it doesn’t show.

“One that doesn’t show up is that it’s a really challenging technical problem and an exciting technical problem to address,” he said, citing an example of how light doesn’t play well with darker objects like darker skin tones.

Kadambi, who recently published a column in the journal Science about achieving fairness in medical devices, says there has to be a technical passion for solving these problems. (He also discussed his views during a recent DeviceTalks Weekly podcast.)

He adds that the social impact is equally crucial …

7 ways to ensure your medical device product design isn’t biased

Correcting unintentional biases in medical device product design is a big step toward improving equity in medtech.

[Image from Pixabay]

Achuta Kadambi, an assistant professor at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, says when looking at bias in medical devices, there’s often a lot of narrative in the media of what it is. However, it’s also important to address what it doesn’t show.

“One that doesn’t show up is that it’s a really challenging technical problem and an exciting technical problem to address,” he said, citing an example of how light doesn’t play well with darker objects like darker skin tones.

Kadambi, who recently published a column in the journal Science about achieving fairness in medical devices, says there has to be a technical passion for solving these problems. (He also discussed his views during a recent DeviceTalks Weekly podca…