30 Jun 2026

Aligning fertility, family-building and hormonal health initiatives globally

While trying to build a globally inclusive benefits package, many organisations have inadvertently created a fragmented ecosystem. While understandable, it can be problematic.

With four generations working side by side for the first time in history and one in four workers belonging to the sandwich generation, supporting employee fertility, family-building and hormonal health needs across generations and geographies can feel overwhelming.

This often results in a significant administrative burden for HR teams and employees alike, who find themselves navigating multiple vendors, point solutions and disconnected systems. What begins as a well-intentioned effort to provide inclusive support can quickly evolve into a complex network of benefits that are difficult to communicate, measure and scale globally.

Modern health needs can't be ignored

At the same time, the need for support has never been greater. According to the World Health Organization, one in six people globally experience infertility during their lifetime. The impact extends far beyond reproductive years, affecting mental health, financial wellbeing, productivity and employee engagement.

Similarly, menopause has emerged as a critical workforce issue. Fawcett Society research from 2022 shows that approximately one in ten women have left a job due to menopause symptoms, while two-thirds of working women aged 40-60 report that menopause has negatively affected their work experience, according to CIPD data from 2023.

As women remain in the workforce longer and increasingly occupy senior leadership positions, organisations can no longer afford to view menopause support as a niche benefit.

The challenge for employers is no longer deciding whether to invest in fertility, family-building and hormonal health support. The challenge is determining how to align these initiatives within a cohesive workforce strategy that delivers meaningful outcomes for employees while creating operational simplicity for the organisation.

Moving beyond point solutions

Many organisations have adopted benefits reactively, adding fertility support one year, menopause programmes the next, and caregiver resources later still. While each initiative addresses a genuine employee need, the result is often a collection of disconnected services that employees struggle to discover and use.

Employees do not experience their lives in silos. A single employee may be navigating fertility treatment, caring for ageing parents, supporting teenage children, managing perimenopause symptoms and advancing into a leadership role: all within the same decade.

A workforce strategy that mirrors this reality requires an integrated approach that supports employees through multiple life stages rather than isolated health events.

Viewing hormonal health through a lifecycle lens

Leading employers are beginning to recognise that fertility, family-building and hormonal health are interconnected elements of a broader employee wellbeing strategy.

A lifecycle approach may include support for:

Fertility and family-forming, including adoption and surrogacy
Pregnancy and postpartum care
Pregnancy loss support
Menstrual health including conditions such as endometriosis and PCOS
Perimenopause and menopause support
Caregiving resources for children, parents and dependents

Rather than viewing these as separate programmes, organisations can position them within a unified framework focused on helping employees thrive through every stage of life.

Data and demographics considerations

Global organisations should begin by understanding the demographic composition of their workforce.

Questions to consider include:

Where are employees concentrated geographically?
What age groups make up the largest segments of the workforce?
Where are women most represented in leadership pipelines?
What are the caregiving responsibilities of employees across regions?
Which health conditions are driving absence, turnover or healthcare claims?

The answers often reveal that fertility, family-building and hormonal health benefits are directly connected to talent attraction, retention and workforce productivity. For example, organisations competing for highly skilled talent in their 30s and 40s may see fertility and family-building benefits as a differentiator. Those focused on retaining experienced leaders may identify menopause support as a component of female leadership retention.

Creating consistency, maintaining local relevance

One of the greatest challenges for multinational employers is balancing global consistency with local relevance.

Healthcare systems, cultural norms and legal frameworks differ significantly between countries. What works in the UK may not translate directly to Singapore, Germany or the U.S.

A successful global strategy often includes:

A consistent philosophy and employee experience across all markets
Core support pillars available globally
Localised implementation based on regulatory and cultural requirements
Flexible delivery models that adapt to regional healthcare systems

Start by aligning your global policies, so they operate holistically alongside your benefits provisions to explicitly support fertility, women’s health and menopause.

Take a look at Fertifa’s ecosystem of policy templates, designed to operate independently or integrate seamlessly, as a starting point.

Future of workforce health strategy

The future of employee benefits will not be defined by the number of programmes an organisation offers. It will be defined by how effectively those programmes work together to support employees throughout their lives.

Fertility, family-building and hormonal health are no longer standalone wellbeing initiatives. They are strategic workforce considerations that influence talent attraction, retention, productivity, leadership representation and employee experience.

Organisations that can simplify access, create continuity across life stages and align support with broader workforce objectives will be better positioned to meet the needs of a multigenerational workforce while delivering measurable business value.