In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse Roe v. Wade, commentators, celebrities, and politicians from across the political and economic spectrum have weighed in on its implications. In addition, some of the country’s (and the world’s) most recognizable businesses have released statements indicating their reaction to the ruling. According to Reuters, Tesla, Disney, Amazon, and Netflix, to name a few, have publicly stated that they will offer benefits, including travel costs, to employees who need to leave the state to access abortion care. This follows steps many of these companies have already taken to implement more “family-friendly” workplaces. For instance, Netflix also offers up to a year of paid leave for workers after birth or adoption of a baby, and Microsoft and Google appear regularly on lists of companies with the most generous parental leave benefits.
Do Your Company’s Abortion Benefits Cover Your Most Vulnerable Workers?
After the Roe v. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, organizations around the United States pledged to pay for travel and abortion care for their employees. But changes to who counts as an employee may exacerbate racial inequality. Since the 1970s, organizations have increasingly outsourced front desk, cooking, cleaning, and other jobs to contract workers. At some companies, many of whom are women of color — and they aren’t covered by these new health care benefits. Even Black and Latina women who are full-time employees have good reasons not to approach white male bosses about accessing these benefits. So, when people talk about abortion bans affecting women of color the most, they aren’t wrong, argues the author; but companies that think they’re helping women might be widening racial divides in the process.