Corporate abortion policies further complicate choices for female staff
At the start of this century, the standard advice to female workers was to keep their health issues as private as possible. Bosses, most of them male, were thought to be squeamish about mental health and pregnancy, let alone period pain and menopause.
Things have changed. Employers are now more involved in women’s health than ever before. The Covid pandemic brought down some barriers, as many managers and human resources departments realised they needed to check regularly on the physical and mental health of employees who were working from home.
Social movements, such as #MeToo and Black Lives Matter also had an impact, albeit indirectly, as they prompted many employers to set up or give more power to affinity groups, including those for women. These, in turn, began asking companies to provide more support for female employees experiencing discomfort or pain due to menopause, menstruation, pregnancy, and IVF treatment.
In the UK, more than 600 employers, including the civil service, drugmaker AstraZeneca, and the BBC, have responded with public pledges to support women during menopause.
And, in the US, the Supreme Court decision in June that overturned constitutional protections for abortion rights has taken corporate involvement up another notch. A wide range of companies — including Amazon, Citigroup and Ikea — have pledged to pay travel expenses for employees who are forced to leave their home states to access abortion services.
Some went even further. Clothing retailer Patagonia, which has a history of taking progressive stands, said it would not only pay for abortion care and out-of-state travel, but would also cover bail for any employee arrested in an abortion rights protest.
Clothing retailer Patagonia said it would cover bail for any employee arrested in an abortion rights protest © Anthony Behar/Sipa USA/ReutersWe are a long way from my early days in the workplace when many employer healthcare plans did not even cover oral contraceptive pills. But I worry we have not come as far as optimists would have us believe.
Companies seeking to support women through the physical effects of menopause are finding that it is easy to put policies in place but much harder to make the programmes effective. Many managers find it awkward to launch nitty gritty discussions of night sweats and hot flashes, and that can discourage staff from seeking help.
Bringing abortion issues into the workplace will further complicate the choices for female employees. Some people are squeamish about menopause, but others are profoundly uncomfortable with, or actively oppose, abortions. Often coupled with discomfort around female sexuality, such views are bound to affect managers’ attitudes towards women who seek abortions.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Brooke Masters
