Skip to main content

Social Freezing: Benefit or Trap?

As more companies offer fertility benefits—including egg freezing (social freezing)—ethical debates are growing.

When companies pay for delayed motherhood:
Is it real support or just the illusion of care?

Corporate Fertility Benefits

According to Fertifa (2024), many large employers—including Google, Meta, Microsoft, PwC, and Spotify—cover the costs of IVF and egg freezing to support staff who delay parenthood for career or personal reasons.

“We won’t adjust our work culture for your family plans, but we’ll pay you to delay them.”

Unintended Consequences

Mason & Ekman (2017) in WIRED warn that such programs can increase pressure on women to postpone motherhood and reinforce a culture that favors career over family.

Are we supporting choice?
Or are we adapting women's biology to fit corporate timelines?

What to Consider:

  • Freezing eggs may offer options—but it is not a guaranteed insurance policy.
  • Fertility declines with age regardless of freezing.
  • Financial and emotional burdens of delayed motherhood should not be ignored.
  • Company-paid freezing may shift responsibility from institutions to individuals.

Sources:

  • Fertifa. 2024. "The Companies Offering Fertility Benefits in 2025." Fertifa, March 9, 2024.
  • Mason, Mary Ann, and Tom Ekman. 2017. "No, Companies Shouldn’t Pay Women to Freeze Their Eggs." WIRED, April 11, 2017.
www.aboutivf.com | Evidence-based IVF resources

This material is for informational purposes only – always consult your doctor before making any decisions.