How can employers show support for employees around abortion and early baby loss?
By Jo Faragher on 07 February 2023
Last month it was the 50th anniversary of the Roe v Wade ruling – a decision made in 1973 in the US courts to legalise abortion in all states. This was far from an optimistic celebration for many, however, as last June the US Supreme Court overturned the ruling – giving power back to individual states on the issue. Since then, more than a dozen US states have enforced bans on all or nearly all abortions, while others are limiting access to abortion services.
When the ruling was overturned, a number of businesses showed solidarity with employees who may need to terminate a pregnancy by stating they could help with travel costs to abortion centres in other states. Brands including Disney, Meta, Amazon and Netflix were among the employers voicing their support. And while this may seem like a far-off issue for UK-based companies, it’s not one to ignore. Any organisation with global offices could have employees who work in states or countries where it is difficult to access family planning or termination support. Furthermore, the conversation around female health is becoming more and more open as increasing numbers of businesses offer financial and practical support for staff going through menopause, miscarriage or premature birth. Supporting employees who choose to terminate a pregnancy could arguably fit in well with a holistic approach to workers’ wellbeing. An individual could be seeking an abortion for any number of reasons – whether medical concerns about the baby, risk to the mother, or because the parent was not ready or prepared to have the child.
Importance of support
According to a survey commissioned last year by global nonprofit Catalyst, almost one in three employees (30%) are considering leaving their employer because of its response to the Roe v Wade decision. Almost half (44%) felt that organisations and leaders were not doing enough to ensure abortion access for staff. A third wanted to see their CEO advocate for abortion rights. Where organisations had spoken up on the issue, this was viewed positively. Employees were nearly twice as likely to say their organisation cared about employees’ needs, it found. More than half (52%) of employees ages 18-34 (57% of women, 47% of men) said they would likely use employer-provided financial or travel benefits to access abortion care if they or their partner needed them – and around a third said they would not be able to afford it otherwise. Getting time off work was an issue, too. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they would not be able to get time off work to travel for an abortion without assistance from their organisation, such as written policies, benefits, or manager support.
“Supporting comprehensive reproductive health care is not only the right thing to do for organisations, it also improves an organisation’s competitiveness for talent, especially among younger workers who are less likely to accept a job in a state where abortion access has been restricted,” says Rikia Birindelli-Fayne, interim executive director for EMEA at Catalyst. “The pandemic and global equity movements, including #BlackLivesMatter, have put DEI issues front and centre in the workplace. Employees increasingly expect organisations to speak out on equity issues and want to work somewhere aligned with their values.” And while the research Catalyst undertook was US focused, it shows a global trend of employees expecting more from employers. “Catalyst research, including in the UK, in 2022 also revealed the importance of organisations introducing DEI policies that were seen to be genuine and substantive. It is not enough to make meaningless statements and policies without following through, as this can cause more harm than good,” she adds.
Last year, the Open University began a research project aimed at positively changing women’s experiences at work following an early pregnancy ending. The project was aimed at discovering how women navigate the demands of work while experiencing termination or miscarriage up to 24 weeks’ pregnant. “This is a very under-studied area: we have only been able to locate one previous publication on terminations in this context, and only eight which discuss miscarriage,” says Jo Brewis, professor of people and organisations at OU. “We want to be able to ground our recommendations to HR professionals, line managers, trades union representatives, third sector organisations like our project partners Abortion Rights and the British Pregnancy Advisory and employees in the data we gather.” The project also sought to take a gender-inclusive view of experiences, welcoming experiences of those who do not identify as cis women but have had to navigate early pregnancy loss or termination at work.
Benchmarking policies
Lucie McGrath, director, health & benefits, at benefits company WTW, says the business is seeing lots of requests currently as to how organisations can benchmark what they offer around early pregnancy loss and other areas of reproductive health. “We are seeing more UK employers introduce specific early pregnancy loss policies, many of which include some level of leave entitlement,” she explains. “From an inclusion and diversity perspective, our guidance is for employers to ensure the policy applies to both the pregnant individual and family members who are impacted by the loss (so the non-pregnant partner is also entitled to take bereavement leave following the loss) and to think about those who are not on a conventional journey to create their family and what their needs may be.” Alongside financial support or leave allowances, employers could also point staff towards NHS support or their own employee assistance programmes where they may be able to access counselling. “The NHS do have trained bereavement midwives, who can support individuals and their families experiencing pregnancy loss. Unfortunately due to the current NHS midwifery staffing crisis, they can be extremely difficult to access,” she adds. “Most employers will have some level of emotional wellbeing support available, for example, via their EAP or insurance contracts, although this is not necessarily specialist support.” Charities such as Tommy’s or Aching Arms may be able to help alongside formal company offerings.
It’s also worth looking into what the company’s private medical insurance offers, if appropriate. “Many traditional healthcare plans exclude cover for investigations into recurrent or early pregnancy loss. Those that do, typically require three losses to be experienced before investigations would be covered,” explains McGrath. “This is aligned to NICE/UK clinical guidance at the current time, although there is a clinical consensus that the impact of early pregnancy loss is so significant on those involved that this should be reduced or removed. Typically, UK healthcare plans will cover certain procedures classified as ‘complications of pregnancy’, including where a pregnancy is terminated on clinical grounds or due to medical necessity. The wording of the terms and conditions relating to the coverage can be purposefully brief/limited and carriers will request individuals contact them to pre-authorise planned treatment.”
These policies should not stand alone within a company’s approach to diversity, equity and inclusion, but form part of how they demonstrate authenticity and purpose, Birindelli-Fayne concludes: “Employees are increasingly looking for leaders who will stand up for equity, embrace social responsibility, and take bold action to make measurable progress on DEI goals. If an organisation’s values don’t match up to their own, they will leave. In many cases, employees consider flexibility, inclusion, and ethical leadership as non-negotiable. Job candidates also increasingly prefer to work for organisations they perceive as having high moral character,” she says. “While some corporate leaders are struggling to keep up with the new realities of work and the heightened focus on DEI, those that can take authentic and meaningful action, particularly when faced with a crisis situation, will reap the rewards.”
View more d&i Leaders articles
d&i Leaders is a global community of senior diversity, inclusion and HR focused professionals, looking to collaborate, network and accelerate their workplace inclusion strategy.