There has, however, been a gradual increase in understanding on the employer side. We’ve seen many more business come forward in the past twelve months, announcing that they have introduced a new fertility policy or some level of workplace support. As awareness and uptake grows, we would expect to see clear improvements in these results.
Most encouragingly, almost 80% of people did tell their employer about their fertility journey, suggesting that the workplace taboo is starting to break. However, 60% of people were not honest about the time taken off for appointments and fertility-related illness, indicating that there is still work to be done with getting workplace policies right and in instilling a culture of openness which means employees shouldn’t have to feel guilty about taking the time they need to get their treatment.