PTC strives to support women and underrepresented groups by amplifying their voices, advocating for their growth, raising awareness of important topics and providing resources.
Advocating for Women in the Rare Disease Community
To honor World Duchenne Awareness Day in 2023, we spotlighted inspiring women in the Duchenne community, whether they were a patient, caregiver or advocate. We were proud to celebrate their positivity, determination and contributions to all those affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
People living with rare diseases have many strengths, abilities and ambitions, and one of them is playing and engaging in sports. Increasingly, women have been more visible in paralympic sports, including high-impact and fast-paced sports. At the 2022 IWAS Powerchair Hockey World Cup and the 2023 FIPFA Powerchair Football World Cup, events which PTC sponsored, we were excited to see both women and men with different abilities engaging in fierce competitive play, demonstrating that sports are an empowering outlet for people with disabilities. We were proud to sponsor these events and help bring global awareness to both the sports and the incredible athletes.
Inspiring the Next Generation of STEM Leaders
PTC is dedicated to encouraging, inspiring and supporting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education.
This year, Linda Montella-Carter, PTC’s Chief Information Officer, was nominated as a finalist in the 2024 Philadelphia CIO ORBIE Awards in the Large Corporate category for the second year in a row. This prestigious award honors Chief Information Officers, who have demonstrated excellence in technology leadership, innovation, and excellence. In Linda’s leadership role, she leads a diverse and global team spanning critical aspects of IT that are essential to the organization. Linda is an inspiration to the next generation of young women pursuing a career in technology, and to her colleagues.
We also strive to inspire young women in our communities to pursue careers in STEM.
In recognition of International Day of Women and Girls in Science in 2023, PTC employees moderated a panel discussion for more than 110 students, teachers and teaching assistants from the Scoil Mhuire Girls National School in Dublin, Ireland.
Claire Doyle Manager, International TaxOur aim was to inspire students to consider STEM subjects in their secondary level education, as well as a career in STEM. We showed the multiple pathways that a career in STEM can lead to, how we use social media as a means of communication and that you don’t need to be a scientist to work at PTC.
PTC also partners with STEM Passport for Inclusion in Ireland, a program that addresses inequalities with access to STEM careers among secondary school students in socially disadvantaged communities. Patrice Thornton, Vice President, Human Resources, is based in our international headquarters in Ireland and is passionate about supporting women in STEM. She recently completed her training to begin mentoring young girls in socially disadvantaged schools, empowering them to see their place in STEM, obtain a university-accredited STEM qualification and to enhance their confidence and capabilities.
In the U.S., we support STEM organizations with the goal of inspiring and empowering young people as they pursue STEM fields. In celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, several PTC employees took part in a virtual panel discussion hosted by Students 2 Science, a non-profit with the mission to inspire, motivate and educate students in economically disadvantaged communities to pursue careers in STEM subjects. Karen Koubek, Executive Director of Human Resources at PTC, moderated the event, which featured dynamic female STEM leaders from diverse STEM sectors and backgrounds, highlighting their education and career pathways.
In 2023, students from PASE visited our labs in Bridgewater, N.J. PASE is a public magnet middle/high school in Passaic, New Jersey where students can explore STEM pathways, with the goal of providing every student the opportunity to graduate from high school with an associate’s degree.
Also in the U.S., PTC sponsors the Inspiring Women in STEM conference held by BioNJ every December. We provide financial support and invite women from PTC to participate.
Supporting Women in the Community
To provide aid during cold winter months, in 2022, PTC in Ireland prepared and donated 20 homeless care kits with hygiene products, warm clothes, sleeping bags and much needed supplies to “Muslim Sisters of Eire”. This independent organization of mainly Muslim Irish women provides a range of support services for homeless, women and youth and promoting empowerment, social inclusion and diversity.
Promoting Women’s Safety
In 2022, PTC employee Claire Doyle spearheaded the “Shine A Light” campaign to raise awareness about gender-based violence. The initiative encouraged PTC employees globally to undertake a steps challenge for two weeks to raise vital funds for Women’s Aid, a leading Irish organization that aims to stop domestic violence. The campaign helped to address some of the expressed concerns about women’s safety, and supported by our Global EAP provider Aetna, created a safe space to discuss recent events and how they prompted strong feelings for employees.
Following the campaign, PTC employees Karen Koubek, Claire Doyle and Cynthia Lepore felt compelled to raise further awareness about travel safety and partnered to develop a travel safety guide tailored for female employees.
Additionally, PTC partnered with Offaly Domestic Violence Support Service (ODVSS), in Tullamore, Ireland, where a young woman tragically lost her life, to help break the cycle of domestic violence against women and offer support to domestic abuse victims. PTC donated refurbished laptops to ODVSS as an essential resource that will allow domestic violence survivors to access vital online support.
We are proud to support women in our communities around the world.
Read more about our efforts to promote gender equality at PTC:
