Editorial: Egg freezing reflects lack of parental leave

Freezing eggs — could this be the solution to workplace equality?

Companies from Facebook to Apple to Citigroup have begun to cover the cost of egg freezing. According to Time Magazine, this process would surgically “preserve healthy eggs on ice” until they’re ready to become parents, at which point they begin the process of in vitro fertilization. 

This is a step in the right direction, as women will have less pressure to leave their careers early and risk falling off the leadership ladder, thus increasing life planning flexibility.

But even more pressing is the reality it reflects. Regardless of when it is taken, time away from work creates a bump in one’s career path. This is the central issue that employers must address. 

The United States lags behind among the developed world in providing paid parental leave. In fact, according to the Huffington Post, “When Australia passed a parental leave law in 2010, it left the U.S. as the only industrialized nation not to mandate paid leave for mothers of newborns.” In the U.S., new mothers are guaranteed their jobs for 12 weeks following the child’s birth. However, this is without pay and exemptions remain for small companies.

Furthermore, child raising should not be the mother’s sole responsibility. Federal laws should protect both mothers and fathers from losing pay for assisting one another following a newborn’s early days. It is the federal government’s responsibility to set policy that promotes the general welfare. Allowing parents time to raise their own children would promote family stability, most importantly benefiting the child while not obstructing career prospects for the mother.

Nature cannot be changed. Women who want to both bear children and climb the career ladder will inevitably meet conflict. But this conflict can be minimized if women are afforded better assistance and job security. 

Every developed nation has realized this. It’s time for the United States to as well.