By Kathleen (Katie) Hammond
We have seen a growing trend in recent years of companies covering some, or all, of the cost of elective (i.e., non-medical) egg freezing as an employee benefit. For instance, Meta, Google, Netflix, Uber, and Apple are among the list of companies that offer some coverage for elective egg freezing.
In this piece, I explore four concerns with employer-funded elective egg freezing. While there are many upsides, employers should be mindful of how funding egg freezing may impact workplace culture. They should be careful about how information about the procedure is disseminated, and they need to be careful not to discriminate in regards to who can access it. Additionally, employer-funded elective egg freezing is not a replacement for other institutional benefits that foster workplace equality and parenthood-work balance such as paid parental leave, flexible work schedules, and funding for childcare.