Mentoring 4 Inclusion: giving voice to differences

Promoting inclusion means creating spaces where differences can emerge, be recognized, and become a resource for the community. For this to happen, we need tools that allow not only for storytelling but also for listening and engaging with diverse perspectives. Out of this need came Mentoring 4 Inclusion, a mentoring program followed by a podcast for Medtronic employees that helped raise awareness around identity, diversity, and equity.

The program unfolded over nine months of mentoring, built around three central pillars: generation, disability, and sexual orientation. Through dialogue and the sharing of personal and professional stories, the initiative highlighted how these aspects intersect both private and professional life, giving value to narratives that often remain unheard.

This work took shape through the narration of participants’ experiences, later shared with the entire company through a podcast series composed of short, accessible episodes. These episodes helped bring Medtronic employees closer to the topics addressed and reflected the richness of the perspectives collected. The episodes were then distributed via email to reach the entire workforce. The company reports that the impact of Mentoring 4 Inclusion was tangible: listening directly to people’s experiences fostered internal cultural change, stimulating empathy and strengthening critical awareness.

An entire session was dedicated to trans identity with Zeno Bertagna, who shared his personal journey—his suffering, transition, and transformation—through an autobiographical letter. With the introduction of the carriera alias (an internal policy allowing people to use their chosen name), this session helped deepen understanding of trans experiences and contributed to creating a more welcoming environment.

However, this was not the only initiative in this direction. On May 17, 2024, to mark the International Day Against Homolesbotransphobia, Medtronic organized a sensitization event aimed at keeping attention focused on an issue that remains urgent today. This observance, established in 2007, falls on the symbolic date when, in 1990, the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders—a crucial step in the depathologization process, reminding us that LGBTQ+ rights are always hard-won and never permanently secured.

The event provided an opportunity to reflect on how much remains to be done—both in Italy and beyond—to combat homolesbotransphobia. Because while speaking of acceptance today might seem redundant to those who imagine a truly inclusive society, reality shows that discrimination, exclusion, and violence are still widespread, often hidden. News reports—and the silence of many who choose not to report abuse—reveal a world still determined to deny rights and dignity, particularly to trans people, who are most exposed to physical and psychological violence.

In the face of legislative stagnation—exemplified by the failure of the DDL Zan bill in 2021—what clearly emerges is the need for a profound cultural shift. A transformation that recognizes sexual orientation and gender identity not as deviations to be corrected but as expressions of human richness and diversity to be valued.

The May 17 event sought to convey this awareness, emphasizing that the fight against homolesbotransphobia cannot be limited to a legal struggle—it must become a shared, everyday responsibility. Including in the workplace.