76 percent of employees want companies to step up on abortion access

Kirstie McDermott | THIS COLUMN WAS CREATED BY JOBBIO
·4 min read
35

Shockwaves reverberated around the country following the Supreme Court’s vote to strike down the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision on 24th June this year.

Two months on, abortion is now illegal or heavily restricted in at least 14 states. Around eight more states have laws in place that will pave the way to ban or severely restrict access to abortion, for example in Wyoming, where a near-total ban on abortion is currently delayed by court order. At the moment, 17 states have laws that protect the right to abortion, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The picture is fluid and ever-changing. As it stands now, almost 21 million, or one in three people, in the United States between the ages of 15 and 44, have lost access to abortion, according to U.S. census data. But with some states in flux as their bans are temporarily blocked by the courts, if injunctions are lifted, abortion could soon be  inaccessible for 36 percent of those between the ages of 15 and 44, who would then likely to be unable to obtain an elective abortion in their home state.

Economic cost

There is also an economic cost to reducing access to abortion care. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) says that access to comprehensive reproductive health care is central to women’s full participation in the workplace. It also points out that “these measures fall hardest on women that already face systemic obstacles accessing health care and economic opportunities – including Black women, Hispanic women, low-income women, rural women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and more.”

Those who participated in a recent LeanIn.org survey agree. Seventy six per cent are concerned that the overturn of Roe will negatively impact their ability to progress at work, and the feeling is even stronger among women of color, 82 percent of whom express concern.

The same number (82 percent) say that having control over whether and when they have a child is critical to pursuing their career goals. Workers are looking to their employers for assistance, with 81 percent saying that supporting access to reproductive healthcare (including abortion) demonstrates an organization’s commitment. A further 76 percent are more likely to want to work for a company that supports abortion access.

Companies are stepping up as a result, offering to cover or reimburse those employees who need to travel to receive medical care, including abortion. Amazon, H&M, Doordash, Airbnb, Intel, Apple, Gucci and Tesla are just some of the household names stepping up. Employees want more, however, with 78 percent of LeanIn.org’s respondents replying that their employer should take action to protect abortion access too. Watch this space.

In the meantime, if you are looking for a new role, we’re taking a look at three employers which are currently hiring and you can check out plenty more opportunities on The Hill Jobs Board.

Grant Thornton

With revenues of $1.92 billion, Grant Thornton International is one of the world’s leading organizations of independent audit, tax and advisory firms and has more than 50 offices worldwide. As a professional services firm, it prides itself on doing business a bit differently – in fact in December 2019, Grant Thornton was placed in the top 50 global employers for diversity and inclusion (D&I). Teams take a bold approach, use agile methods and its D&I culture offers its people the opportunities and support to help them succeed. With more than 62,000 global professionals working for the business across 135-plus countries, 8,400 of its people are located in the U.S. Right now, there are a wide variety of career opportunities on offer at Grant Thornton; check them out here.

Bloomberg

A global leader in business and financial data, news and insight, Bloomberg is a powerhouse in the financial, software, data, and media sphere. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has around 20,000 employees across 176 countries. A leader in applying artificial intelligence, machine learning and natural language processing, Bloomberg is known for its Terminal and it also provides tools and automated workflows that help the world’s business and financial decision-makers surface relevant information in an ever-expanding ocean of data. A 2022 expansion into the UK has stimulated hiring and there are a number of interesting roles available in the U.S. too – you can check those out here.

Venmo

“I’ll Venmo you that” – it is the app that provides the handiest, easiest way to split a bill, pay a check or drop a friend some cash for tickets. Venmo was founded in 2009 and is designed to make it easy to transfer funds to others using a mobile phone app. Venmo was bought by PayPal in 2012, and in 2021 the company handled $230 billion in transactions and generated $850 million in revenue. Tens of millions of Americans use it for fast, safe payments and the company is hiring – discover open roles across the U.S. here.

To discover millions of career opportunities, browse The Hill Jobs Board

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.