When Medtronic’s Amanda Miranda talks about her career path, she understandably gets emotional. The biomedical engineer put her career on hold to start a family some years ago but her son, Johnathon, was sadly born with congenital heart failure, and passed away at age four.
Finding herself with a newfound passion for helping patients like Johnathon, Amanda’s desire to rejoin the workforce was tempered by her own uncertainty about whether she was equipped to jump back into the field she loved.
Amanda finds support through Medtronic
After six years away from the workforce, Amanda returned to the engineering field through a Medtronic hiring initiative called Careers 2.0.
The Careers 2.0 programme gave her the boost she needed. The hiring initiative provides returnship opportunities for women in engineering after taking time away from the field. Amanda was hired by Medtronic and now provides cardiovascular product design expertise at one of the company’s most advanced R&D facilities in Tempe, Arizona.
“I feel at home here,” Amanda says. “I am working on products that will make a difference.”
Amanda’s story is one of hundreds from around Medtronic that represent the company’s commitment to inclusion and diversity.
“We believe diversity is critical. It makes a difference in our capabilities, our thinking and ultimately the success of our company,” says Medtronic chairman and CEO Omar Ishrak.
“We have set aggressive goals to better reflect the global population both in gender and diverse ethnic representation at all levels of the company. We do this because we know greater diversity will benefit our business, our customers and our entire team.”
Making the grade for DiversityInc’s Top 50
It is stories like Amanda’s that have helped put Medtronic on DiversityInc’s List of Top 50 Companies for Diversity.
In addition to a robust Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) initiative, Medtronic provides hiring and career development support through employee resource groups for various ethnicities, as well as, LGBTQ, military veterans, young professionals, and employees with disabilities.
For its annual list, DiversityInc looks at approximately 1,800 companies based on information in four key areas: Talent Pipeline, Equitable Talent Development, CEO/Leadership Commitment, and Supplier Diversity.
“Our commitment to global inclusion and diversity reflects our fundamental belief that diverse people and perspectives result in better decisions and outcomes,” adds Carol Surface, Chief Human Resources Officer at Medtronic.
“This focus is very consistent with the fifth tenet of the Medtronic Mission – to recognize the personal worth of all employees. We are honored to be recognized by DiversityInc for such an important part of our company culture.”
Return to the workplace with Medtronic
The Careers 2.0 returnships run every year in June through December or January through June. You can apply through Medtronic now to be considered.
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Disclosure: Where Women Work researches and publishes insightful evidence about how its paid member organizations support women's equality.