Apple, Facebook to pay female employees to freeze their eggs

Apple and Facebook will pay female employees up to $20,000 to help cover the cost of freezing their eggs. The goal is to enable women who want to continue focusing on their careers without sacrificing their chance to have children later on. NBC News reports that Facebook recently began its program and that Apple in January will start paying employees who want to freeze their eggs.

Not since the birth control pill has a medical technology had such potential to change family and career planning.

Emma Rosenblum in Businessweek

The period during which women approach declining fertility is seen as prime work years for women hoping to advance in their careers, and many professional women consider the process a means of hitting pause on their desire to have a family. Given Silicon Valley’s noted lack of women in power positions, offering employees money for this costly procedure — it’s $10,000 for every round of frozen eggs and an additional $500 annually for storage — could help lure top female talent.

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