Bracco Foundation at the Milano Relay Marathon 2025: Running for STEM equality

On Sunday, 6 April 2025, World Sport Day, the streets of Milan city filled with participants in the Milano Relay Marathon, a major event combining sport with solidarity. The Bracco Foundation’s contribution to the day was to call attention to the crucial issue of support for young women keen to study STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

More than a race, the marathon was a collective experience, and every step along the way was an opportunity to share. More than 42 kilometres of streets and roads were filled with colour and lined by enthusiastic spectators, while as many as 16 thousand runners made their way through the four sections into which the route was divided. The marathon start was in Piazza del Duomo and the finish line on Via Palestro.

#MindtheSTEMGap: This year, 84 participants, divided into 21 relay teams, took part in a run sponsoring the expansion of the Bracco Foundation's educational programme with the addition of a new scholarship for the academic year 2025-2026. The scholarship is intended for a talented and diligent female student from a disadvantaged background to facilitate her continued studies as she follows her technical-scientific ambitions. Through this gesture of sport and solidarity, each marathon participant was also in pushing for real change.

Everyone, including those unable to run in person, can contribute by signing the MIND THE STEM GAP MANIFESTO, which enshrines a joint commitment to moving beyond gender stereotypes and promoting a more inclusive culture.

We are most grateful to those who took part in the run, to those who lent their support, and to those who showed their belief in this collective drive, especially our own colleagues from Bracco and Centro Diagnostic Italiano.