Medtronic sets a strong tone on gender equity: An Asia-Pacific leader’s perspective

When we consider progress over the past decade, we know that it is possible to move the needle on gender equality. The advancements have come about because businesses and people from all walks of life have come together to disrupt the status quo and create meaningful change.

Dr Feng Dong, Vice President Asia Region-led Markets, Global Regions at Medtronic joined Health Industry Hub‘s International Women’s Day (IWD) interview series to reflect on how the medtech sector stack ups on gender equity.

His entrance into the healthcare industry began almost 30 years ago when he started practicing as an orthopaedic surgeon in China. He transitioned into the pharma and medtech sector, working at Bayer Pharmaceuticals and GE Healthcare, prior to his long tenure with Medtronic.

Dr Dong was crowned a winner of Medtronic’s Global, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (GIDE) Award for his contribution to gender equity in China, by exceeding the global standard for the percentage of women appointed to leadership positions.

As a gender equity advocate, he shared where his personal and professional inspiration comes from in the pursuit of meaningful change across the diverse culture of the Asia-Pacific region.

“There are multiple countries here [in the Asia Pacific region] and every country is slightly different. Some countries have a higher female ratio and some countries still have some big challenges. However, we realised that as a modern multinational company, we should bring the mindset of equity and a drive for diversity and inclusion. 40% ratio is our first goal to meet by FY26,” he said.

He outlined Medtronic’s gender-transformative policies that have challenged the underlying causes of gender inequity and how the company consistently measures the success of these initiatives at every level of the organisation.

“Personally, I regard it as a very important responsibility to work with the team to change the mindset and to help in this area [of gender equity],” he added.

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