As we process the results of our election, half of the United States is feeling euphoric, and half is despondent. We are a fractured nation – that much is clear. We all need to reflect on the circumstances that have brought us to this place. Employers have an opportunity and obligation to consider their role as stewards of the health and wellbeing of their workforce.
As the largest providers of healthcare in this country, we depend on our employers to provide us with family-friendly policies to empower us to raise our children and create thriving households. Huge swaths of Americans do not have access to the basic reproductive and maternal health (RMH) benefits they need to survive let alone thrive. Workers, even those who are insured, struggle to access affordable, quality healthcare, are unsure whether their healthcare covers preventative visits, contraceptives, abortion care, mental health services and prenatal care. If they are lucky, they may get maternity leave or parental leave, but so many do not. The stress and uncertainty around our ability to access healthcare while working while caring for families takes a significant toll. People struggle, families suffer, our faith in our social contract suffers and we all pay a collective price.
We know – thanks to data and stories – that when companies support their workforce with comprehensive and quality reproductive and maternal health benefits, workers and their families are able to take care of their basic needs. Discussing reproductive and maternal health is deeply personal, but in the two years since I launched Reproductive & Maternal Health Compass, I’ve been consistently moved by the stories people have shared about the real impacts – good and bad – that corporate RMH benefits have on their employees. Consider two anecdotes: a young professional shared that he and his wife wanted to start a family but first he wanted to get a new job after learning his employer had cut its paid family leave program; a woman shared that she works harder now than ever because she feels such loyalty to her employer after using their family formation benefits to start her family.
The experiences I’ve heard underscore how much these benefits matter regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation and job status. Many workers consider RMH benefits when evaluating a new job opportunity. All this underscores that there is a compelling business case – a case that will continue to drive the employment choices of American workers – for providing RMH benefits.
At this moment, employers have an obligation and an opportunity to support, reassure and act on behalf of their workforce. There are many ways to do this that have nothing to do with politics: this is about the health and well-being of our fellow Americans. Below are several actions that employers should take to prioritize the health and well-being of their workforce:
Review
Take an inventory of the reproductive and maternal health benefits offered to your workforce with consideration for the different geographies in which workers are located. If your organization has workers in regions where access to reproductive health services may be restricted, consider how those employees can still access services. Consider eligibility criteria for various benefits offered; if benefits can be offered to a broader cross section of your workforce, consider making eligibility more expansive. Use your benefits vendors as a resource to ensure sufficient understanding of how RMH benefits can be made available to your whole workforce.
Reassure
A significant majority of the workforce want to work for a values-aligned company and believe that women’s health is under attack in the U.S., so communicate why reproductive and maternal health benefits are aligned with corporate values focused on well-being and caring. For workers in regions where access to reproductive health services may be restricted, provide information on how they can navigate their benefits plan to get the care they may need in a safe, confidential way.
Repeat
Surveys have shown that workers consistently feel they lack detailed information about their benefits packages. At the same time, companies spend about 30 percent of total compensation on benefits. This means that People teams have a business incentive to provide information about their RMH benefits frequently, clearly and through multiple channels. Specifically, People leaders should design a communications plan that offers RMH benefits details more than once and in more than one place. Share information about available RMH benefits to workers across a variety of platforms, intranets, webinars, small-group information sessions, Women’s ERGs, and in writing.
Flory Wilson has spent her career incentivizing the business community to be great stewards for their stakeholders. As the Founder and CEO of Reproductive & Maternal Health Compass (RMH Compass), a non-profit focused on advancing RMH benefits available to U.S. workers, her goal is for all U.S. businesses to provide comprehensive reproductive and maternal health benefits to their whole workforce.
Prior to launching RMH Compass, Flory spent 10 years at B Lab, the organization behind the B Corp movement. At B Lab, Flory launched numerous programs including an impact investing rating system and created the framework to certify B Corps outside of the US. From 2005 to 2010, Flory was a Senior International Economist at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation in Washington, D.C. She holds a M.A. in international relations from Johns Hopkins SAIS and B.A. from Colgate University and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two kids.