In the past few decades, egg freezing has become an increasingly popular practice for women looking to take control over their reproductive decisions. Recognizing that societal norms continue to change and the workforce becomes increasingly diverse, employers of all types are already starting to provide financial assistance and reimbursement for this procedure. Experts are split on whether this trend truly benefits women—or just aligns with corporate goals.
Lucy van de Wiel, PhD, is a senior lecturer in global health and social medicine at King’s College London. She’s the author of a new book, Freezing Fertility. In the clip below, she unpacks the slippery logic at play when companies pay for employees to freeze their eggs. Meanwhile, Marcia Inhorn, an anthropologist at Yale University, has extensively researched this phenomenon, interviewing 150 American women who froze their eggs for her book “Motherhood on Ice: The Mating Gap and Why Women Freeze Their Eggs.”
The statistics are telling. In 2023, over 39,000 US residents chose elective egg freezing. Many factors fuel this unprecedented increase in demand. Both improvements in medical technology and changing attitudes toward family planning come into play here.
The Technological Evolution of Egg Freezing
Vitrification is a revolutionary procedure for egg freezing developed in the early 2000s. Since then, it has completely transformed the fertility preservation process. By quickly cooling eggs, this technique greatly improves the probability of a successful thaw and eventual pregnancy. In 2012, the practice of egg freezing was no longer considered “experimental,” an important milestone in the field of reproductive medicine.
Salima Fakirani, a Toronto-based lawyer and Ontario Egg Bank co-founder, froze her eggs at 31. She initially learned the lay of the land by speaking with her women coworkers. She shares that her experience has been truly empowering, but it is contradictory. “I felt like I had bought myself a little bit of time,” she said, expressing relief at having taken control of her fertility.
She’s concerned about the commercial aspect of egg freezing. “I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders,” Fakirani noted, but she remains wary of the motivations behind the industry. As this process becomes more standardized, there is concern over what its real intention is.
The Societal Implications of Corporate Support
In light of this, some employers have now made the choice to subsidize egg freezing. They tout this decision as helping women further their careers while planning their families. Both van de Wiel and Inhorn caution against looking at this trend only in positive terms as an indicator of women’s empowerment. They claim that despite its “good intentions,” it could unintentionally contribute to harmful societal pressures and expectations regarding gender.
“As Inhorn concludes, egg freezing fails to confront these root problems in heterosexual partnerships. “It doesn’t solve the tragedy of heterosexuality,” she stated. She notes how men’s and women’s ambitions frequently come into conflict. This disconnect requires women to make impossible decisions about their reproductive lives.”
Additionally, van de Wiel ponders the message being communicated when companies provide these benefits. “What does it actually convey to women when you say that your company will pay for egg freezing?” she asks, suggesting that it may reflect a lack of commitment to creating family-friendly workplaces.
The Business of Egg Freezing
It’s a booming industry, driven by women’s increasing decision to freeze their eggs and retain control over their fertility. According to Inhorn, “You have to show that your numbers of treated patients and of revenue are increasing year on year. And this is where egg freezing comes in, because egg freezing is expanding at a truly breakneck pace. More troubling however, is the apparent prioritization of profit over ethics in women’s reproductive healthcare.
Fakirani’s viewpoint captures the push and pull in this rapidly changing environment. Though she enjoys the flexibility that comes with egg freezing, she’s still deeply suspicious of its commercialization. As a legal practitioner in the City of Toronto, she knows what the business implications are, but her concern lies within how it limits women’s agency and decision-making.
