Facebook & Apple to pay for female employees to freeze eggs

Female employees working at Facebook and Apple are reportedly being offered the chance to delay motherhood for longer if they choose, as the companies are offering to pay for them to freeze their eggs.

As reported by TechCrunch, Facebook and Apple are giving their female staff an incentive to work for longer before becoming mothers, by paying for the $10,000 procedure as well as the $500 a year it costs to store eggs once they have been frozen.

It is understood this is a perk that will be offered automatically to female employees, but has not been welcomed with open arms by everyone.

In an email Apple said: "We continue to expand our benefits for women, with a new extended maternity leave policy, along with cryopreservation and egg storage as part of our extensive support for infertility treatments.

"We also offer an Adoption Assistance program, where Apple reimburses eligible expenses associate with the legal adoption of a child. We want to empower women at Apple to do the best work of their lives as they care for loved ones and raise their families."

Neither company has openly stated why they have both chosen to offer this to employees, but it is easy to foresee it going some way towards closing the gender gap in tech.

The ability to take time out for pregnancy and maternity leave at certain times isn't the only issue for women in the industry, but it is still significant. On the other hand, it flies in the face of the idea that female professionals can juggle their career with motherhood without having to choose.

Regardless, freezing eggs does not ensure women can have children later on in life, as the success rate for one cycle is just 35 per cent.

It is a controversial issue to address at a time when women's place in IT has been in the headlines more than usual, and will certainly spark opinion on both sides.