Facebook and Apple offer egg freezing to their employees
1 November 2014
Read by 3965 persons
Facebook and Apple are offering to pay for their female employees to freeze their eggs, according to NBC. The measure, which is intended to help women balance careers and motherhood, has drawn criticism.
The policy has been in effect for several months at Facebook and is expected to launch at Apple in January. The two Silicon Valley giants are among the first large companies to offer this benefit for non-medical reasons.
Facebook and Apple say they want to attract more women into the male-dominated tech industry and allow women to balance career and family. However, egg freezing is costly: around \$10,000 for the procedure and \$500 annually for storage.
Sacrificing early career years?
Critics argue this is hypocritical, suggesting the companies aim to benefit from women's most productive years by delaying motherhood. One fertility specialist told NBC that covering egg freezing could be seen as a “return on investment” for employee engagement. Forbes satirically remarked, “Stay at work, we’ll pay to freeze your eggs,” suggesting that Apple and Facebook are less likely to temporarily lose younger employees eager to raise children. In the fierce competition for talent in Silicon Valley, this measure may give these companies a competitive edge.
The offer is optional for female employees. Wired points out that it allows women to avoid having to choose between career and family—two things that are often incompatible. But the underlying issue of incompatibility isn't addressed by delaying motherhood to prioritize a career.
Lexpress.fr with AFP
Published October 15, 2014.
Posted November 1, 2014.
The policy has been in effect for several months at Facebook and is expected to launch at Apple in January. The two Silicon Valley giants are among the first large companies to offer this benefit for non-medical reasons.
Facebook and Apple say they want to attract more women into the male-dominated tech industry and allow women to balance career and family. However, egg freezing is costly: around \$10,000 for the procedure and \$500 annually for storage.
Sacrificing early career years?
Critics argue this is hypocritical, suggesting the companies aim to benefit from women's most productive years by delaying motherhood. One fertility specialist told NBC that covering egg freezing could be seen as a “return on investment” for employee engagement. Forbes satirically remarked, “Stay at work, we’ll pay to freeze your eggs,” suggesting that Apple and Facebook are less likely to temporarily lose younger employees eager to raise children. In the fierce competition for talent in Silicon Valley, this measure may give these companies a competitive edge.
The offer is optional for female employees. Wired points out that it allows women to avoid having to choose between career and family—two things that are often incompatible. But the underlying issue of incompatibility isn't addressed by delaying motherhood to prioritize a career.
Lexpress.fr with AFP
Published October 15, 2014.
Posted November 1, 2014.
