Recent news about the US Supreme Court's plan to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that protects the constitutional right to an abortion, may have a domino effect on tech environments as employers like Amazon, Apple, Tesla, Match, Yelp, Salesforce, HP Enterprise have offered to cover abortion-related costs for employees.
Abortion is a critical aspect of women’s reproductive rights and healthcare. We believe that it should not be politicized. On Monday morning, Amazon distributed the notice internally, informing employees that they would be eligible to receive reimbursements that would “cover medical costs for candidates such as in vitro fertilisation, injectibles, fertility treatments and surrogacy costs.” That also includes costs related to abortions. Other tech companies have offered to bear the cost of transportation fees for employees who need to travel for an abortion.
It is unfair that women have to travel miles to get safe abortions because of the system’s need to have a say over women’s bodies. Rumour has it that big tech companies are working hard to attract and keep the best employees, and one of the ways they're doing that is by making it easier for their employees to access reproductive healthcare. We are so here for it!
We are curious about how many more tech companies will step up with the new company policies by adding the coverage of abortion-related costs to their employees’ benefits and packages.
Overcompensating at work?
The underrepresentation of women has been a hot topic among women in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) community. While there are more conversations about the underrepresentation of women in STEM roles, companies must create support groups and communities that focus on women in the tech industry to increase women’s chances of excelling in the tech space. Women in tech shouldn’t have to feel like they have to prove something by being in the tech community.
Temiloluwa Oyetayo, head of Product Marketing and Communications at Brass, sat with Technext this week. She talked about the supposed over-saturation of the fintech space, how women tend to overcompensate in the tech industry, and the importance of female mentors in tech.
“I have observed that women tend to overcompensate. I always say it, my female colleagues as well, we work ten times harder than the men. As women we are always so dependable, you can count on us to finish our jobs. We always put in a 110% per cent and it can be a burden. There is this feeling like I always have to show that I am equal to the task and better than my male counterparts, and it’s one I don’t like as a woman in tech.”
What would a support system within the tech community mean to you? Share with us!
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