Apple and Facebook are now offering to pay for female employees to freeze their eggs!
The initiative is part of the so-called “perks arms race” as Silicon Valley firms battle to recruit top talent and it is hoped the perk will attract more women into a traditionally male-dominated sector. (Sky News)
Fertility specialist Philip Chenette is quoted as saying “providing egg-freezing coverage for employees can be viewed as a type of payback for women’s commitment in a mael-dominated industry where technology firms are often competing to attract female talent” (NBC News)
https://www.pacificfertilitycenter.com/fertility-preservation/
The cost for egg freezing in the US is about $10,000 (£6,200) for every round, as well as $500 or more for storage each year.
Apple also offer assistance with adoption.
Will UK companies soon be offering this perk?
steve@bicknells.net
In my opinion this is a serious intervention with the nature.
When a woman would like to have children it is unhealthy and impossible to freeze the desire for the future! Instead, such companies should provide the best working conditions for pregnant women and possibly offer help with childcare costs at later stage instead of offering such destructive solutions!
Bringing up children is a very hard work and not really a good idea to have them at the age of 40 or 50 after achieving a career success. Unfortunately we cannot stop the time and women will get old whether they freeze their eggs or not. I would advise all women to have their babies as they desire during the age when they are able to be full of energy and young.
I would not want to talk about the situations where we consider ”Women diagnosed with cancer”. It is another subject.
Regarding purely retaining staff for the career purposes it is unfortunately against human nature and nature clock. I cannot imagine women at the age of 60 pushing a pram with a new baby! I am being a bit sarcastic now but that is just a vision.