Women in the Workforce: Trends in Women’s and Family Health Benefits in 2024
This month, Ovia Health by Labcorp (Ovia) released its third annual Future of Family Friendly 2024: Benefits That Matter, a comprehensive report which indicates a growing desire for greater family-friendly benefits in the workplace.
The report reveals a significant shift in employee sentiment toward their benefits. More than six-in-ten employees (62%) report they do not consider their employer family-friendly, an increase from four in 10 in 2023. Additionally, 43% of employees give their existing benefits a grade of “C” or lower. Almost three-quarters (72%) of workers view family benefits as extremely important, and 73% would leave their current role for a lateral move to another company with better benefits.
Employees Want Longer Paid Parental Leave, Alternative Family Planning Support
Longer paid parental leave tops the list of benefits that are most important to employees. However, the report shows growing demand for a host of benefits rarely offered by employers. The disparity between available and desired benefits is particularly stark in areas such as pregnancy loss leave, where only 5% of those surveyed have access, despite 53% indicating it’s a benefit they highly value. Between 10% and 20% of known pregnancies, and potentially up to 30% of all pregnancies, end in miscarriage.1
Similarly, while 38% of employees seek alternative family-building support, very few have access to benefits for adoption (14%), surrogacy (5%), or foster parent support (7%). Additionally, over half of employees (53%) express a need for maternity care management support, yet only 7% report having those benefits.
Mid-Life Benefits Are in High Demand
Approximately 1.3 million women enter menopause each year. And while menopause officially marks the end of a woman’s menstrual cycles, most women begin experiencing symptoms much earlier, during perimenopause, which typically begins about eight to 10 years before menopause.
The need for better support for employees experiencing menopause or perimenopause is also a critical finding of the report. Among respondents of menopausal or perimenopausal age, 83% feel the symptoms of menopause or perimenopause impact their ability to work. Yet, a mere 1% have menopause support at work. This disparity highlights a growing need for more attention to the full continuum of women’s healthcare from employers if they wish to maintain a productive and diverse workforce that includes employees of all ages.
Supporting Women’s and Family Health Journeys
At Ovia, we offer a platform that supports the full spectrum of women’s and family health, serving as an essential companion to help improve health outcomes and support equitable family journeys.
A snapshot of our data shows when individuals use our resources to track their health data and screen themselves for perinatal mood disorders, our clients see up to a:
- 54% reduction in preterm births*
- 24% reduction in C-sections*
- 14% reduction in preeclampsia*
- 3x increase in postpartum depression screening*
- 92% infant vaccination adherence rate
What’s driving results like these?
Our focus on prevention, backed by 1:1 human-centered guidance, isn’t just meant for one moment in a member’s life. It helps members from preconception through menopause. In fact, in 2023:
- Ovia users logged more than 116 million data points and health symptoms in our apps;
- More than 216,000 Ovia users enrolled in condition management programs;
- More than 137,000 mental health screeners were completed; and,
- Ovia sent more than 400,000 critical alerts to users to help them recognize potential issues or health risks.
As we continue to navigate the complexities of women’s health and family planning benefits, it’s clear that actionable insights and forward-thinking strategies are essential for fostering healthier workplaces and communities.
Download your copy of the Future of Family Friendly 2024: Benefits That Matter and join us in shaping a better future for women’s and family health.
*Note that these outcome(s) reflect(s) the greatest improvement experienced by a single client for this/these clinical condition area(s). Other clients experienced different outcomes in this/these clinical area(s). Actual results may vary based upon initial prevalence rate and engagement rates.
** Ovia distributed its annual survey to users who are working parents. More than 2,000 working parents responded, most of whom were between the ages of 26 and 40. The respondent pool consisted of 98% women, 1% men, and 1% non-binary. The full report and its comprehensive findings can be viewed at https://learn.oviahealth.com/benefits-that-matter.