Fertility, family-building, menopause
Are you sure your employee benefits are inclusive for all life stages?

In the month of International Women’s Day, we want to focus on this growing employee benefits trend that can empower your people and help them transform their lives.
The fact is that while employees today may not expect to stay in the same job for life, they do still expect their employer to fully support them through whatever stage of life they’re at while they’re part of their workforce. In light of this, fertility, family-building and menopause support initiatives are now one of the growth areas in the employee benefits (EB) market.
Multinationals are making headlines for attracting talent with benefits packages that cover everything from the cost of egg freezing and fertility treatments, to support for adoption, surrogacy, menopause and mental health services.1
Employers offering these benefits are sending a clear message to their people – and to talent on the hunt for a new job – that they view their health and wellbeing at home and at work as overlapping, rather than separate concepts. Employees and jobseekers alike appear to be firmly on board with that message.
· Generation Z (Gen Z) employees cite access to mental healthcare benefits as a top priority.2, 3
· Fertility and family-building benefits are rising in popularity among both Gen Z and Millennial employees.4
· And Gen X women say they value benefits packages that provide menopause support.4
These are the types of benefits that change lives and affect employees while at work as much as at home. To look in more depth at this important topic, we heard from one multinational, Workday, and our wellness partner, Maven Clinic, to find out more about this growing trend.
How to talk about fertility benefits
Starting a family is one of the most exciting phases in many people’s lives. But the reality is it’s not easy for everyone and trying for a baby can bring stress and heartache.
Today, we’re seeing a growing number of multinationals recognise this reality by investing in benefits that support their people through distressing and costly challenges, such as fertility issues.
But understanding how to sensitively communicate these benefits is one of the key challenges when offering fertility support.
The egg-freezing benefits trend, for example, has attracted controversy in recent years. The criticism has generally centred on two points: that it risks giving women the impression they should postpone pregnancy to get ahead at work or gives employers room to neglect other workplace conditions that support mothers in their careers.

One expert suggests employers be mindful of how they communicate about egg freezing benefits, by making it clear it’s not being offered as a replacement for other initiatives that promote equality and work-family life balance.7
Focusing fertility and family-building benefits messaging only on women also risks employees perceiving their company’s offering as outdated.
However, by offering parental leave and flexible working arrangements for fathers as well as mothers, and by ensuring their EB programmes are inclusive of solo and LGBTQ+ parents’ needs, multinationals can show their people that they are committed to supporting them to parent equitably.
It’s also important to consider how your people are supported through times that might be emotionally and physically draining.
Sanjeev Bhuhi, Global Employer Sales Director, EMEA, Maven, says fertility support is too often presented as a women’s issue, despite men also being affected by issues like infertility and the grief of pregnancy loss.
He adds: “One in six people experience infertility at some point in their lifetime.8 When employees are facing fertility issues, it can often affect how engaged they are at work.”

Workday's 'storytelling' power
The HR and Finance software multinational, Workday, offers women’s health and family-building benefits via Maven to nearly 3,200 employees in 30 countries. At a recent International Benefits Employee Association (IEBA) UK meeting , Lisa Aslam, Principal Benefits Manager at Workday, emphasised the powerful impact of these benefits on employees' lives, including pregnancies resulting from IVF.
She says “storytelling” is one of the most important drivers of employees’ engagement with these types of benefits. Not only is there a “really strong business case” for having these types of support in place, but Workday’s now seeing the results its benefits and policies are having on its people’s lives.
Investing in communications has “ensured our employees are informed about their benefits whilst allowing us to showcase the true value of our employee benefits package,” Lisa said.
“As a result, we’ve seen increased engagement and sentiment for our benefits programmes and our brand.”
Family-building for everyone
Plenty of companies are taking the same approach and actively promoting their ‘family-friendly’ initiatives to the market to attract talent. In recent years, job sites have recorded a surge in posts advertising shared parental leave policies.10 Expert analysis suggests employers can play a role in narrowing the ‘motherhood penalty’ gap – the impact of starting a family on women’s careers and earning potential – by supporting all parents through their family-building years.11
And it’s a mutually beneficial concept. Employers offering gender equitable policies that help women stay in work benefit from reputational gains, helping them to attract top talent.11
Despite paternity leave being more widely offered today, statistics suggest many men still feel taking time off to care for their children is damaging to their career.12 Childcare is a shared responsibility, and multinationals have an opportunity to play a leadership role in helping male employees understand that there is no stigma attached to taking the leave that is on offer.
Menopause shouldn't be ignored
Another crucial life stage that makes up part of this hugely important topic is menopause.
Many companies today publicly commit to promote more women into senior leadership positions. But to show real commitment to this, strong health and wellbeing support should be focused on all women, no matter what level of an organisation they work at.

A lack of support for women going through menopause at every level of the workplace can have effects that ripple throughout an organisation and wider society. Employers must recognise that major life changes, such as menopause, not only impact women’s quality of life, but their careers too, potentially forcing them to leave their careers or halt their progression, Sanjeev says.
“Over a million women left the workforce in the UK alone due to not feeling supported as they navigate the menopause.17 And these are women who are very often at the peak of their careers.
“That’s a big loss for an individual to lose their career because of a lack of support, and from their employer's perspective, that’s a big loss as well."
Taking action
We’re seeing a common thread emerge in employee wellbeing, across all demographics, as workers look to their employer for benefits that support them through every stage of life.
There are likely to be cultural forces at play in this trend. Many major companies today take public stances on social issues that affect their employees both at home and at work – whether it be the gender pay gap or championing women in senior leadership roles on International Women’s Day. Employees today can – and will – directly compare their company’s public values to how they are treated personally.
Investing in comprehensive EB packages that include fertility, family-building and menopause support is just one positive step toward showing your people, and the talent you want to attract, that your company doesn’t just talk about issues but actually takes action.
And it’s important to recognise not everyone plans to have children or gets to have children as they may have wanted. Offering a broad range of wellness initiative options, such as nutrition, fitness, mental health and financial wellbeing support, ensures everyone is included.
David Schupak, Director of Global Relationship Management, MAXIS, says: “The growing availability of fertility, family-building and menopause benefits has generated understandable excitement among employers and employees alike.
“Stories like the ones we heard from Workday showcase the power of offering benefits like IVF support. And multinational employers across the world are asking us how they can support all areas of women’s and family health. I’m seeing more and more multinationals committed to investing in new benefits to support their people through life’s milestones and challenges.
“People want to work for employers who understand that life is not just about work. Supporting your people through every stage of life helps you show them that you are truly invested in their health and wellbeing – not only in the workplace, but beyond it too.”
[1] Cohen, C. (November 3, 2023) A £45,000 fund for IVF and £16,000 for IVF and egg freezing: How fertility became the ultimate workplace perk. The Evening Standard https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/wellness/ivf-fertility-egg-freezing-work-benefits-best-companies-b1117699.html (Sourced: February 2024)
[2] Anon. Mercer. (2023) Rethinking What We Need From Work: Inside Employees’ Minds 2022-2023 https://www.mercer.com/en-us/insights/talent-and-transformation/attracting-and-retaining-talent/rethinking-what-we-need-from-work-inside-employees-minds-2022/ (Sourced: February 2024)
[3] Anders, G. (May 4, 2022) Taboo or timely? Younger women press hardest on mental health issues. LinkedIn Confidence Survey. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/taboo-timely-younger-women-press-hardest-mental-health-george-anders/ (Sourced: February 2024)
[4] Anon. Maven Clinic. (2024) Maven’s State of Women’s and Family Health Benefits 2024 https://www.mavenclinic.com/reports/annual-maven-fertility-report (Sourced: February 2024)
[5] Fite, E. (August 4, 2019) New moms returning to work face nursing challenges. Washington Times. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/aug/4/new-moms-returning-to-work-face-nursing-challenges/ (Sourced: March 2024)
[6] Anon. Maternal mental health. World Health Organization https://www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/promotion-prevention/maternal-mental-health (Sourced: March 2024)
[7] Hammond, K. Harvard Law: Bill of Health (September 6, 2023) The Problems with Employer-Funded Elective Egg Freezing https://blog.petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2023/09/06/the-problems-with-employer-funded-elective-egg-freezing/
[8] Anon. (April 4, 2023) 1 in 6 people globally affected by infertility: WHO. World Health Organization https://www.who.int/news/item/04-04-2023-1-in-6-people-globally-affected-by-infertility (Sourced: March 2024)
[9] Mayne, M. (October 31, 2022) More than half of employees with fertility problems not getting support at work, survey finds. People Management https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1803709/half-employees-fertility-problems-not-getting-support-work-survey-finds (Sourced: March 2024)
[10] Urquhart, J. People Management. (12 August, 2022) Employers twice as likely to offer enhanced parental leave compared to last year, study finds https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1795671/employers-twice-likely-offer-enhanced-parental-leave-compared-last-year-study-finds (Sourced: February 2024)
[11] Anon. PWC. (2023) Women in Work Index 2023 https://www.pwc.co.uk/economic-services/WIWI/pwc-women-in-work-index-2023.pdf (Sourced: February 2024)
[12] Cox, J. BBC Worklife. (13 July, 2021) Paternity leave: The hidden barriers keeping men at work https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210712-paternity-leave-the-hidden-barriers-keeping-men-at-work (Sourced: March 2024)
[13] Whittle, G. DW. (February 10, 2024) Women in Germany demand better access to fertility treatment https://www.dw.com/en/women-in-germany-demand-better-access-to-fertility-treatment/a-68199876 (Sourced: February 2024)
[14] Anon. Menopause Factfile. Local Government Association https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/workforce-and-hr-support/wellbeing/menopause/menopause-factfile (Sourced: March 2024)
[15] Anon (2023) Menopause and the workplace. Fawcett Society https://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/menopauseandtheworkplace (Sourced: March 2024)
[16] Taylor, L. Independent. (14 October, 2021) Women are leaving their jobs because of the menopause – it’s time to start talking https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/davina-mccall-symptoms-nhs-cipd-b1938361.html (Sourced: March 2024)
[17] Duffy, M. Maven Clinic (September 19, 2023) Menopause benefits at work: An overlooked need for your employees https://www.mavenclinic.com/post/menopause-in-the-workplace-an-overlooked-need-for-your-employees (Sourced: February 2024)
This document has been prepared by MAXIS GBN S.A.S and is for informational purposes only – it does not constitute advice. MAXIS GBN S.A.S has made every effort to ensure that the information contained in this document has been obtained from reliable sources but cannot guarantee accuracy or completeness. The information contained in this document may be subject to change at any time without notice. Any reliance you place on this information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
The MAXIS Global Benefits Network (“Network”) is a network of locally licensed MAXIS member insurance companies (“Members”) founded by AXA France Vie, Paris, France (“AXA”) and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New York, NY (“MLIC”). MAXIS GBN S.A.S, a Private Limited Company with a share capital of €4,650,000, registered with ORIAS under number 16000513, and with its registered office at 313, Terrasses de l’Arche – 92727 Nanterre Cedex, France, is an insurance and reinsurance intermediary that promotes the Network. MAXIS GBN S.A.S is jointly owned by affiliates of AXA and MLIC and does not issue policies or provide insurance; such activities are carried out by the Members. MAXIS GBN S.A.S operates in the UK through its UK establishment with its registered address at 1st Floor, The Monument Building, 11 Monument Street, London EC3R 8AF, Establishment Number BR018216 and in other European countries on a services basis. MAXIS GBN S.A.S operates in the U.S. through MAXIS Insurance Brokerage Services, Inc., with its registered office located in New York, USA, a New York licensed insurance broker. MLIC is the only Member licensed to transact insurance business in New York. The other Members are not licensed or authorised to do business in New York and the policies and contracts they issue have not been approved by the New York Superintendent of Financial Services, are not protected by the New York state guaranty fund, and are not subject to all of the laws of New York. MAR01371/0324
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