Medtech Women @ SEMDA branched out to Memphis on November 7th bringing the ecosystem together to discuss addressable gaps and tools needed to enhance opportunities for advancement among women in medtech. The industry was well represented across multiple segments, company sizes and types.
We would like to thank Memphis Bioworks for hosting the event. Memphis Bioworks’ Zero to 510 medical device accelerator reviewed its acceptance rates and noted it has a high acceptance rate for women in medtech.
Closing the C-suite gap
During the Opening Session, Jeanne Gray Carr, Managing Partner for Team Trek Coaching Group, suggested women would benefit from using the right tools to successfully advance their medtech careers. She suggested that taking a power strategies model approach to escalating matters is the best way to go. When women identify and raise issues using available resources to tailor their pitch, frame the issue and use strategic thinking to connect the dots, they are much more likely to succeed.
“It is always a good reminder to frame the issue appropriately and use strategic thinking and appropriate engagement of key stakeholders when approaching difficult change management matters.” Machelle Shields, Medtech Women at SEMDA president and senior executive healthcare policy and compliance advisor for Butler Snow told us. “Focus on what you want and make the ask the right way.”
You can have it all
The new mindset of millennial women was a hot topic during the Women in Innovation Panel Discussion. The idea that women must sacrifice opportunities and roles in their personal lives and professional career seems foreign to the next generation of women medtech innovators and leaders.
“Women in medtech need to know, and are starting to believe and demand, that they can have it all,” Kayla Rodriguez said. “I can work in the C-suite, be a loving mother and an innovator at the same time. The next generation of medtech women will not be convinced otherwise.”
Men and women supporting women
The MW@S Memphis Conference underscored the importance of hosting these kinds of events in more locations as women typically may not have access to the same size and quality of professional networks men do. Developing these networks requires deliberate cultivation, a goal we hope these events help achieve. MW@S seeks to provide women with networking opportunities and contacts they need to excel in the medtech industry.
“Women supporting women was hugely appreciated,” Machelle said. “We love to see both men supporting women and women supporting women with a common goal of advancing mentor and networking opportunities for women. Ted Davis and several other Medtech executives were in attendance and their support is greatly appreciated as we continue to foster women in MedTech.
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