{"id":221,"date":"2022-01-03T09:08:45","date_gmt":"2022-01-03T09:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/accommodating-diversity-in-the-workplace\/?page_id=221"},"modified":"2023-03-26T17:23:23","modified_gmt":"2023-03-26T16:23:23","slug":"fertility-challenges-and-the-workplace","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/accommodating-diversity-in-the-workplace\/current-projects\/fertility-challenges-and-the-workplace\/","title":{"rendered":"Fertility challenges and the workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The persistence of gender inequality in the labour market is well documented: the gender pay gap is still significantly wide, with women more likely to be in part time work and less likely to be in leadership\/senior roles1<\/sup><\/a><\/span>. Whilst there has been a focus on pregnancy, and parenting on career and labour market outcomes,\u00a0 less research has focused on fertility challenges (e.g. pregnancy loss, undergoing assisted fertility treatment, involuntary childlessness). An estimated 20-25% of pregnancies end in miscarriage2<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0and <\/span>1 in 7 couples3 <\/sup><\/a><\/span>suffer from infertility issues in the UK. <\/span>Evidence suggests fertility issues can have a emotional and physical, as well as potential financial, impact on individuals.\u00a0 \u00a0However these issues are rarely spoken about in the workplace, and and often not explicitly included in workplace policies, with individuals suffering in silence. For some individuals fertility journeys can last for years and balancing paid work and fertility journeys can be difficult, leading to career interruptions, reduced hours, slower career progression and even occupational downgrading. Thereby impacting organisation in terms of lower productivity and loss of talent. <\/span>Our current research consists of two parts, focusing on women as well as partners:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Understanding the impact of fertility challenges across the life course<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is little research that examines the impact of fertility challenges from a life course perspective. We will use secondary data to identify broad challenges and trends in UK representative samples. This will help us understand the impact fertility issues have on careers and work transitions, and resulting longer term career and labour market outcomes across the life course.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Evaluating workplace policy and practice for supporting employees undergoing fertility challenge<\/strong>s<\/p>\n

Whilst there has been some recent work on lived experience and recommendation for workplace policy there is little evaluation of what works and what does not work, and whether there is a gap between workplace policy and workplace practice4,<\/sup><\/a>5<\/sup><\/a>.\u00a0 This part of the research aims to undertake some organisational case studies to, firstly, evaluate the effectiveness of existing workplace policy and practice to support employees experience fertility challenges.<\/span> Secondly, to help co-design policy for those organisations looking to implement workplace policy in this area.<\/span><\/p>\n

What are the benefits of becoming a case study?<\/strong><\/p>\n