Taking an inclusive approach to retain working parents and attract new talent

For millions around the world, the path to parenthood can be difficult to access, if not impossible. Infertility impacts 1 in 6 people globally at some point in their lives, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Yet prevention, diagnosis and treatment of fertility issues can be extraordinarily difficult to access. The costs are high, and the availability of qualified care is limited. The topic can also be challenging to discuss, so many individuals don’t address issues with their doctors or may not even know where to start when they need support.

Fertility issues can have an outsized impact on women who delay family building to focus on their careers. In addition to the increased health risks of pregnancy later in life, these women may discover they are trying to conceive right as their fertility is declining. The rate of impaired fecundity, or difficulty becoming pregnant, among those who have never given birth is 22% for women ages 30-39 and jumps to 33% for women between ages 40-49.

The challenges can be even greater for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) women. Studies suggest Black and Hispanic women are more likely to struggle with infertility compared to white women but are significantly less likely to seek care for fertility issues and are underrepresented in the infertility clinic population.

However, when barriers to access are removed, women choose fertility care services. For example, in one study, Black women with at least partial insurance coverage for fertility care through their benefits were found to be four times as likely to use assisted reproductive technologies (ART) compared to the general US ART population.

This increased focus on fertility benefits isn’t just seen among women in heteronormative couples. Trends also indicate that 63% of LGBTQIA+ couples are looking to start a family — making these benefits more relevant for all families.

According to Ovia Health’s 2023 Future of Family Friendly Benefits Report, which surveyed more than 1,500 Ovia members, 65% of respondents reported that fertility assistance or support for alternative paths to parenthood were important to them. And 26.3% of parents were already leaning on ART, surrogacy or adoption as their path to parenthood. When asked what services they would most like to see covered in the future, respondents overwhelmingly asked for assistance with IVF, egg-freezing, adoption, intrauterine insemination (IUI) and other forms of ART. Despite this demand, only

• 52% had access to ART (e.g., IUI, IVF, etc.) support benefits
• 49% had access to adoption support benefits
• 92% had access to surrogacy support benefits
• 84% had access to egg freezing support benefits

These data points give us a clearer picture of an issue people rarely discuss: fertility is a widespread health issue, and most companies don’t offer sufficient (or any) coverage for care. This may be taking the biggest toll on non-white women and women who are further along in their careers — those who are increasingly hard to retain and whose leadership can have a huge impact on a company’s success.

It’s clear fertility is a benefit companies need to cover. A McKinsey-LeanIn.org study shows that senior-level women are now willing to switch jobs to find flexibility; support for diversity, equity and inclusion; and a workplace that values women’s wellbeing. And younger women are following their lead, making career decisions with similar priorities in mind.

Ovia’s research reveals some of the ways this shift is shaping employee expectations. According to working parents and child-bearing-age employees that Ovia surveyed:

• 8% said family-friendly benefits were extremely important
• Nearly 50% said they’d be very likely to take a job at another company with better family benefits.

Related: 40% of employers now offering fertility benefits, up from 30% in 2020

We must do better for these families. Employers can play a major role in this change.

Offering fertility and family-building solutions that are inclusive of all paths to parenthood as well as enhanced parental leave programs and greater workplace flexibility emerge as tangible steps forward at improving access to care and promoting health equity precisely when it is most critical.

Leslie Saltzman, M.D., is the Chief Medical Officer of Ovia Health by Labcorp, a digital health, evidence-based solution that supports the full spectrum of women’s health, from menstrual tracking and family building to support for those navigating the journey of parenthood and menopause.