In 2015, I decided to freeze my eggs. As a healthy 30-something woman, I thought I was taking a proactive step while I figured out my future. However, during my first consultation for the procedure, I received news I wasn’t prepared for: I was on the verge of early menopause.

After delivering an early menopause diagnosis, my doctors had little to recommend other than considering egg freezing. Beyond processing how this impacted my fertility, I had to navigate what this would mean for me going forward. I had minimal guidance on handling this phase of life and how it could impact my health, well-being, and career. Informed support from my physicians and workplace would have been incredibly impactful in helping me navigate my personal and professional life while facing early menopause.

Fast forward to today. It’s encouraging to see how much the landscape has changed since that first appointment. Compared to the handful of employers offering fertility benefits in 2016, 42 percent now provide support, according to the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. These benefits also increasingly extend to menopause care. This has been a timely development with “Millenopause” arriving and reshaping how menopause care looks. Four in five Millennial women are already researching and learning about menopause to better understand how it will affect them. They’re also more likely to consider hormone replacement therapy, a treatment option that has long been stigmatized, to manage their symptoms.

"Workplace partnerships are vital in maintaining and advancing meaningful progress in women’s health."

This progress has solidified the important role our workplaces can play in improving women’s health from maternity through midlife and pre-pregnancy through parenting. While this progress is promising, women in the workforce continue to face critical health-care challenges. Here are three transformative ways we can drive change:

1. Implement virtual support to tackle the growing crisis of maternity care deserts. This is not a small issue — it’s a national one. According to a 2024 March of Dimes report, more than 35 percent of counties in the US are maternity care deserts and are home to more than 2.3 million women of reproductive age. With rural mothers 25 percent more likely to face severe complications during childbirth, this can’t be overlooked.

Virtual support presents a powerful opportunity to offer more accessible resources like birth planning and education. And with 1 in 8 women reporting symptoms of postpartum depression, according to the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, virtual doulas and other emotional support experts can fill a vital gap in postpartum support as well.

2. Provide holistic pregnancy care that addresses mental health, driving better outcomes and keeping top talent on board. Pregnancy isn’t just a physical journey; it’s a mental one, too. Sixty-six percent of working women cite mental health as a top pregnancy challenge. Specialists, like licensed social workers, psychologists, and doulas, can help address mental health challenges before, during, and after pregnancy. One study in Health Care Manager found that anxiety levels decreased significantly when doulas were present during childbirth. Not only does all of this improve health outcomes, but it also supports employees seamlessly returning to work after parental leave.

3. Connect women to timely menopause resources and specialists, supporting their immediate health and avoiding health issues later in life. We are missing a massive opportunity if we ignore menopause in the workplace. The Society for Human Resource Management reports that 20 percent of women in the workforce are experiencing menopause, and the economic toll is staggering — $1.8 billion in lost working time per year, according to a Mayo Clinic study. The financial impact grows even further when factoring in the health-care costs of untreated menopause symptoms, an article in the Journal of the Menopause Society states, along with reduced work hours, early retirement, or job transitions. And let’s not overlook the replacement cost, which can range from 50 percent to double the individual employee’s salary, as reported by Gallup. Offering timely access to menopause specialists and resources isn’t just a health issue — it’s a business imperative.

We’re facing a women’s health crisis, and workplace partnerships are vital in maintaining and advancing meaningful progress. By embracing holistic, comprehensive support for women—from maternity through menopause and pre-pregnancy through parenting—we can drive better health outcomes while also retaining top talent and reducing health-care costs.