They Will Pay to Freeze Your Eggs, But They Don’t Have Onsite Childcare. What Message is THIS Sending to Women in Tech?

By Deanna Kosaraju
Global Tech Women

You have heard it. The latest perk for women in tech: Apple and Facebook will pay for female employees to freeze and store their eggs allowing them to delay starting families while increasing the odds these women will have a successful pregnancy...in the future, putting any concerns of delaying motherhood to rest.

While many applaud this new perk, others are asking, “is the company dabbling into women’s reproduction and/or telling women “not now””?

Perhaps the media are becoming too cynical to question the intentions of these organizations?

One comment I heard on NPR caused me to rethink the question, “if they are so concerned about women and their families (present and future), why don’t they offer onsite subsidized/paid childcare”? After all, extracting and freezing eggs can run up to $20,000 USD, take four to six weeks, and $500 a year for store them. Good question!

Let’s look at what Apple and Facebook, the employers of this new perk, do for childcare here in the United States:

Facebook has been in the news during the construction of a $120 million dollar 394-unit apartment complex, which will include:
  On-site “grab & go” convenience store
  On-site café (Facebook already provides employees with three free meals a day).
  On-site sports pub
  Bicycle repair shop with on-site storage (Facebook has a free bike shop on campus)
  Pet spa with doggy day care, pet walking services, outdoor dog park and run
  Concierge services – dry cleaning and package drop off (Facebook already does its employees laundry/dry cleaning for free)
  Indoor/outdoor wellness, yoga and training facility with personal training (the Facebook campus has a fitness center)
  Resort-inspired pool, spa and cabana area (Ok, no denying it. That sounds nice.)
  iCafe – new generation community business facility
  Clubhouse with full kitchen and cooking area including outdoor facilities
  Large rooftop entertainment deck with three-themed areas (yeah, that's nice, too.)

Guess what is doesn’t have? A childcare facility.  Nor do they have childcare anywhere else on their sprawling Menlo Park Campus.

To be fair, Facebook does offer a childcare credit. But honestly, most employers do offer pre-tax childcare credit and flexible spending accounts, which is just about standard for every multi-national company.   Facebook also provides four months of paid paternity and maternity — same-sex couples included — and $4,000 in “baby cash,” a Facebook spokesperson told The New York Times. 

Anyone who has gone through the difficult process of finding reliable and affordable childcare (think waiting lists) in the San Francisco Bay Area knows how difficult and problematic this can be. 

Looking at Facebook’s top mom, Sheryl Sandberg, we know she has hired nannies and has discussed them often in her interviews. Perhaps that is what she expects her employees to do.  Anyways, children clearly do not fit into the Facebook apartment complex culture. I guess if you want children now, you will have to Lean In and find it yourself. 

Apple announced a new maternity-leave policy for expectant mothers, who now have four weeks paid leave prior to giving birth, and up to 14 weeks (three-and-a-half months) of paid leave after the baby arrives. Meanwhile, fathers at the company can take up to six weeks leave.

Again, no onsite or subsidized childcare.

But, they now offer: Apple’s “wellness center,” a medical one-stop-shop located in a striking new building at Apple’s Cupertino, Calif.-based headquarters, which opened about a year ago and employs seven doctors plus a large team of chiropractors, physical therapists and dieticians.


Maternity policies at Facebook and Apple don't come close to minimum requirements in Europe and other parts of the world.

Clearly, the message is: we want young women, before they have children. Childless talent fits our culture. Women with children, you are on your own. Given the need to retain a diverse culture inclusive of the people who actually use your products (ie Apple Health does not track periods), you may want to re-think this Facebook and Apple. Hiring women and then retaining them will resolve a large part of your pipeline concerns.

Putting onsite childcare on campus leads to higher retention, happier employees, loyalty and let’s face it, it’s the right thing to do. The media will really have something positive to say then, and so will women in tech everywhere.