Episode 2 Mom’s at Work: Starting a family, navigating fertility support and employer benefits

Fertility issues are more common than ever, and the cost of treatments like IVF is sky-high. That means fertility benefits, paternity leave, parental support, and family-friendly policies are becoming make-or-break factors for many job seekers.

But the rising costs of fertility are squeezing both employees and employers. Maven, a virtual clinic for women’s and family health, published a report in February 2025 which revealed that 69% of employees either have taken, considered taking or might take a new job at an employer that offered better reproductive and family benefits. 

The report also showed that more than half of employees lack clarity on costs before starting treatments, 46% received a surprise healthcare bill or paid more than expected, and 28% went into debt to cover related healthcare costs. 

In this episode of our limited-series podcast WorkLife Presents: Mom’s at Work, we speak with Jenna Glover, chief clinical officer at Headspace, who shares some of the challenges she and her wife had on their own fertility journey, and in navigating company benefits, and what a bad maternity policy looks like.

Cisco is among the rare number of employers that have generous fertility and maternity benefits. In the U.S. the company has a family planning program where it will reimburse up to $50,000 for family planning expenses that are not related to a medical diagnosis.

We speak in this episode to Cisco’s chief people officer Kelly Jones on why offering employers tens of thousands of dollars in fertility support is an ROI no-brainer when it comes to talent retention.

And we speak with Sean Puddle, managing director of North America at talent search firm Robert Walters, on the real financial costs businesses face when they have to replace talent, after mothers exit the workforce. 

WorkLife Presents is hosted by Jessica Davies, founding editor of WorkLife, Sara Patterson is producer, and Tim Peterson is the executive editor of audio and video for Digiday Media. 

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