Freezing Eggs

Facing calls to diversify their largely white and male ranks, Facebook and Apple are offering their female employees a new perk: freezing their eggs.
The companies' new policies, revealed Tuesday, put them among a handful of employers in the country known to offer the expensive benefit Google is said to be one of the others and come as Silicon Valley firms wage what some have called a "perks arms race" to lure top talent.
The move, praised by advocates for women, also highlights the steps these companies are taking to address the gender imbalance in their workforces. Women account for less than a third of employees at Apple and Facebook, according to diversity statistics released earlier this year. "It shows they're thinking about issues that are of concern to women and they're willing to put their money where their mouth is," said Patricia Gillette, a partner at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe who co-chairs the San Francisco Bar Association's No Glass Ceiling Initiative, which seeks to promote women leadership in the law.
NBC News, which first reported the news, said Apple and Facebook appeared to be the first major companies to cover the procedure for nonmedical reasons. Google also offers the coverage to employees, according to fertility doctors in the Bay Area. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Egg freezing is generally an outpatient procedure that women undergo after having fertility drug injections, designed to give them a better chance of a successful pregnancy later in their lives.
Both Apple and Facebook will cover egg-freezing costs of up to $20,000, according to NBC News. Facebook began covering the costs in January. Apple will start covering the costs next year.

"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," an Apple spokeswoman said in a statement.
As I came across this savvy yet ethical current event I immediately thought of the type of...