National Fertility Awareness Week took place at the beginning of November, and offers an opportunity for HR teams and employers to reflect on the support structures they have in place for women in the workplace.
The core focus for this year’s week was how fertility issues impact people’s mental health and wellbeing – with the impact of infertility in the workplace often overlooked.
Women’s health and fertility challenges in the workplace are urgent, as the UK has the largest gender health gap in the G20, and the 12th largest gender health gap in the world.
We can no longer pretend that female specific health issues operate in their own sphere with no impact on women’s career prospects or the wider economy. Particularly as a report by the NHS Confederation, in partnership with Create Health Foundation, estimated that gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis and ovarian cysts, cost the UK economy £11 billion every year through absenteeism.
The same report found that for every additional £1 of public investment in obstetrics and gynaecology services per woman in England, there is an estimated return on investment of
£11 to our Treasury. Female health conditions also have an impact on mental and emotional health, with women’s stress levels having a significant knock-on effect on productivity. The figures are clear: investing in women’s health is not only good for the nation’s health but for the nation’s economy too.
It is disappointing then to see that in 2024 some women continue to be held back from career progression due to a lack support for their health conditions. For too long, women’s health has been overlooked, ignored or downplayed with just 2 per cent of medical research public funding spent on pregnancy, childbirthand female reproductive health when one in three women suffer with reproductive health problems at some stage in their lives. As a result, disregard for female health challenges is present throughout society, and unfortunately our workplaces are no different.
So what should employers be doing? A survey undertaken by Create Fertility and WorkLife Central found just 4 per cent of employers offer appropriate training for HR Directors or line managers in how to support employees undergoing IVF, whilst only 12 per cent gave time off to employees that suffered a miscarriage prior to 24 weeks of pregnancy. Employers should create an environment where the difficulties faced by women with health or fertility challenges are recognised and appropriate support is provided.
An important step in improving support is to create a culture where women feel they can speak about their fertility or health challenges with colleagues, and not have to keep this a secret.
This can be done via training to develop HR leaders’ understanding of how miscarriages, menopause and fertility treatment impact employees’ physical and mental wellbeing. Women are more likely to seek support if they feel they will be met with compassion and understanding, and this increased awareness will enable HR directors and line managers to provide reasonable adjustment options.
Policy change will also be highly impactful. As the law currently stands, no paid leave is offered for employees undergoing fertility treatment or for those who suffer a miscarriage before 24 weeks of pregnancy. As a result, many women use paid leave to attend compulsory fertility treatments, with some feeling that they have no choice but to reduce hours or leave work entirely. This only underscores the tangible impact an absence of reproductive health support has on women’s career progression.
Providing compassionate leave for miscarriage, offering paid leave for fertility treatment and delivering comprehensive training to ensure an inclusive and supportive culture could all play a part in better supporting women.
It is shocking to see that women’s careers continue to be held back by health or fertility challenges. Closing the gender health gap will involve pushing back against deep rooted stigma and increasing awareness of women’s health issues. The personal, professional and economic cost of inaction is too high. Luckily,
with the right training, support and policies we can put women on an equal footing and ensure the gender health gap doesn’t worsen our gender pay gap.
