Recently, Facebook offered their female employees the option of freezing their eggs, in addition to 4 months maternity leave and free meals. Seduced by the idea, Apple should follow. It is an idea that is not well liked by all women in the United States.
“Insulted”, that is how many American women feel after the offer made to Facebook’s female employees that wish to cover the cost of freezing oocytes, up to $20,000 US. It is an advantage like any another, according to the American giant, which would allow their female employees to delay a pregnancy so that they can focus on their career. It should be said that Facebook ensures that their employees, whether men or women, receive maximum benefits with regards to the four month maternity leave offered by the company, payment for fertility treatments, free daily meals or even medical care available on site.
The question of productivity
Starting in January, Apple, another Silicon Valley giant, is also expected to cover costs associated with freezing oocytes for their employees. In a press release, the company made it known that they wanted to give their female employees the “power to do the best work of their lives as they care for loved ones and raise their families”.
The ever-present wage gap
These announcements revive the debate on the role of women in business. Some women’s groups see it as a way of straying from a true analysis of gender equality in the career world, because the differences are quite real. At the beginning of the year, President Obama affirmed in his State of the Union address that in the United States, women earn 77 cents for every dollar a man earns.