Amazon to expand access to fertility and family-building benefits

Amazon has teamed up with Maven Clinic to expand its fertility and family-building support programme in a bid to attract and retain employees.

As part of the partnership, the giant says it will give its workers and their partners free access to board-certified reproductive endocrinologists, obstetricians, gynaecologists, nutritionists, mental health providers and adoption coaches.

Virtual care will be available through video or message chat with doctors, nurses, coaches, and other experts across 35 languages.

Full-time, part-time, and hourly workers will have access to free local support through a care advocate who will help them navigate their fertility and “family-building journey”, provide referrals and advise them on local family-building guidelines.

“Our benefits are designed to care for all our employees’ needs, and that means ensuring they have the resources they need to live their best lives, regardless of their personal circumstances,” said Lian Neeman, global director of benefits at Amazon.

“Maven is an employee-friendly benefit that takes the guesswork out of the family-building process, which can often be confusing and overwhelming.

“Its approach to fertility and family building is tailored to each person and will support our employees around the world.”

Kate Ryder, founder and CEO of Maven Clinic, said: “There are too many barriers to care in healthcare systems that were not built around the needs of women and families, and Amazon is cutting through that complexity by making it exceptionally easy for their employees to access high-quality, personalised care in their own language at any hour of the day or night.

“We’re delighted to support Amazonians around the world as they plan and grow their families.”

Heather Mellish, global president of Families@, Amazon’s family-focused affinity group, added: “It’s great to see the addition of Maven to our benefits, which means that more Amazon families have access to world-class family-building resources.

“This sort of support across the entire definition of the word ‘family’ is exactly what a company should provide for its employees.”

The demand for workplace fertility benefits is on the rise, with close to 90 per cent of those experiencing infertility willing to change jobs solely for the benefits.

Last year, fertility advice provider FertilityIQ estimated that 800 large organisations around the world offered benefits such as assistance with fertility, adoption or fostering, a 59 per cent rise on 2019’s total.

Starbucks, Walmart, Apple, Spotify, Hootsuite and LinkedIn are among the biggest employers offering fertility benefits.

Data shows feedback for the benefits has been overwhelmingly positive, with Hootsuite’s employee-engagement score jumping from 66 per cent to 81 per cent after the introduction of the scheme.