How Employers Can Support Women’s Reproductive Rights
Source: Knowledge@Wharton, Angie Basiouny (Hosted by Stephanie Creary
Photo: Women’s Rights Protestor
It’s been a year since Roe v. Wade was overturned. In this episode of Leading Diversity at Work, experts tackle the sensitive subject of how companies handle the issue of abortion.
The debate over abortion has long centered on religion and politics, but last year’s Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade deeply impacts business, labor, and the entire economy, according to experts who spoke recently with Wharton management professor Stephanie Creary.
“If I could go back 50 years and wave a magic wand, I would make abortion as much about economic empowerment and economic justice as anything else,” said Jen Stark, co-director of the Center for Business and Social Justice, which is part of BSR, a sustainable business network and consultancy. “We’ve helped companies understand this for what it is — an ongoing, slow-moving public health crisis that leaves companies as a firewall, whether they want to be or not, when it comes to their workers accessing abortion care.”
Stark joined Creary’s podcast series, Leading Diversity at Work, to discuss the connection between work and women’s reproductive rights ahead of the first anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. That decision on June 24, 2022, reversed the landmark 1973 Roe ruling and returned the right to regulate abortions to individual states. Abortion is now fully banned in 14 states, and six more states ban the procedure after a certain number of weeks of pregnancy.
Creary invited two more experts to join the discussion: Bobbi Thomason, former Wharton postdoc who is assistant professor of applied behavioral science at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio Business School; and Megha Bansal Rizoli, a Wharton MBA graduate who is director of employer mobilization at Jobs for the Future, a nonprofit working toward equitable economic advancement.
Creary said she convened the panel because she wanted to talk openly about a taboo topic that has left many employers confused about what, if anything, they should be doing.
“Businesses always have somewhat of a tense, precarious understanding of their relationship to broader societal issues and concerns. We also know that when the decision came out, there weren’t a lot of employers who wanted to get on camera or to be recorded saying what they were doing,” she said. “As a diversity scholar, I was trying to figure out, what is the right way to talk about this conversation?”
Help Women’s Reproductive Rights, Help the Workforce
The panelists said reproductive health care is fundamental to equality. Survey data show that a majority of women seeking abortions cite financial reasons for their choice. Data also show that employees, particularly younger women, care about how their employers respond to the controversy. Ultimately, the panelists said, women’s participation in the workforce and their earnings hinge on their access to health care and child care.
“It’s a critical issue for equitable economic advancement and a critical issue in which employers have a huge role,” Bansal Rizoli said.
In an article for MIT Sloan Management Review, Thomason outlined a call to action that she repeated for the podcast:
Allow remote work and location flexibility so that women can make their own choices about where they want to access safe, reproductive health care.
Support employees in accessing reproductive care. When the Dobbs decision was leaked in May 2022, a number of employers such as Amazon responded by pledging financial support for employees who would be forced to travel to seek safe abortions.
Partner with organizations that specialize in providing reproductive care, such as Hey Jane and Just the Pill.
Be intentional about where to hold organizational events and conferences, which are key to professional development. “When a predictable faction and segment of your workforce is not going to be safe attending those events, you’re marginalizing and perpetuating inequalities,” Thomason said.
Bansal Rizoli agreed with those steps and added a few more: Focus on mental health and well-being by creating safe spaces for dialogue on the issue, extend childcare benefits and flexibility for working parents, and prioritize equality.
“The truth of the matter is that for women, and particularly women working in low-wage jobs and women of color, this access can mean the difference between economic insecurity and economic advancement,” she said. “And the choice to participate in the workforce often, unfortunately, comes down to issues of access to health care and child care in this country.”
Stark’s organization has published “Six Actions for Businesses in a Post-Roe America” that push companies toward advocacy. She said neutrality is not an option anymore.
“If I had to put it on a bumper sticker for business right now, I’d say, ‘The sidelines are no longer the middle ground.’ This issue is literally showing up on the doorsteps of companies,” Stark said.
The women agreed that more companies are taking a stand on reproductive rights and other hot-button issues as they begin to understand the potential impact on their talent pool. They said it’s important for employers to turn inward and listen to their workers, especially women and those from underrepresented groups. And they exhorted leaders to do more to create a healthy, safe, and inclusive environment.
“This isn’t about a statement you put out. This isn’t a PR campaign. This is about the work and making your workplace one in which all employees can thrive,” Bansal Rizoli said.