Young people want to work for companies that support access to abortion: survey

Shirin Ali
·3 min read
108

Story at a glance

  • Lean In published survey results that assessed how young Americans feel about their employer’s stance on abortion access.

  • Among working women under the age of 40, 76 percent are more likely to want to work for a company that supports abortion access.

  • Lean In says if companies don’t protect their employee’s right to choose, they could risk losing future leaders.

The issue of abortion is on the minds of American workers, with a new survey revealing an overwhelming majority of young people want to work for a company that supports abortion access.

Lean In, a policy group advocating for women in the workplace, published survey results from an online poll of nearly 3,200 U.S. workers. It found that among working women under the age of 40, 81 percent believe supporting access to reproductive health care demonstrates an organization’s commitment to supporting and advancing women.

Another 76 percent of women said they are more likely to want to work for a company that supports abortion access, and 78 percent think their employer should take action to protect abortion access in response to the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe.

The June 2022 decision that overturned the nearly 50-year precedent set by Roe v. Wade, which affirmed the constitutional right to abortion in the U.S., had immediate ramifications.

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Nearly a dozen states enacted laws that ban or place strict restrictions on abortion. Many companies responded by pledging to cover any employee’s abortion treatment, including any travel-related expenses — including Amazon, Citigroup, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Disney and Netflix.

Lean In also found that abortion rights matter to men too, with 74 percent of male respondents under the age of 40 indicating they are more likely to want to work for a company that supports access to abortion. Seventy-three percent thought their employer should take action to protect abortion access in response to the Supreme Court overturning Roe.

The risks of not taking any action at all is high, as Lean In found 34 percent of women and men under the age of 40 are considering switching jobs in light over Roe being overturned, either to work for a company that offers generous reproductive health care benefits or one that publicly supports access to abortion.

Women and men of color were about twice as likely as white women and men to be considering switching jobs — which could potentially risk companies’ diversity and inclusion efforts.

Notably, Lean In also found that a majority of Republicans (68 percent) and Democrats (86 percent) under the age of 40 think their employer should take action to protect abortion access in response to the overturning of Roe.

Some Americans had their chance to make their stance on abortion clear, like in Kansas where residents overwhelmingly voted to retain their state’s constitution’s protection of a right to abortion. It was the first vote centered on abortion rights since the Supreme Court overturned Roe.

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