The 'Sinister Side' Of Silicon Valley Egg Plan

In Silicon Valley they call it the 'Dave Rule'. The insider joke goes that if you've got as many women on a team as blokes called Dave, you've got gender equality.

It’s a reminder of how under-represented women are in the tech industry. Only 15% of Facebook’s tech staff is female, and they make up fewer than one in four managers.

Among measures to address the issue, Facebook and Apple plan to fund female employees to harvest and store eggs. Is this "empowering women" as Apple claims or is it a reflection of the darker side of Silicon Valley?

For a start, what kind of message does it send to employees? That if you become pregnant you're letting down the company? That it's okay if you become a mother when you're "older" as by then you're less valuable anyway? Let’s not forget older workers are also a rarity in the Valley.

As this comes under the banner of employee benefits, presumably Facebook and Apple would be aware of who had taken up the offer and who have not.

Could workers feel pressured to freeze their eggs to demonstrate commitment? Might those who haven't (or who are having their eggs thawed for use) fear the impact on their career prospects?

And what of the freezing process? It's more successful, both in terms of harvesting and pregnancy after re-implantation the younger the woman.

At age 40, the chances of pregnancy with a re-implanted egg after one round of associated IVF is less than 13% while the chances of conceiving naturally are around 20% on average, although it falls quite rapidly from there.

According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine: "Marketing this technology for the purpose of deferring childbearing may give women false hope."

In a statement, Apple said: "We want to empower women at Apple to do the best work of their lives as they care for loved ones and raise their families."

Isn't this an insult to fathers who are increasingly taking their share or more of childcare? Why not ditch the gender stereotype and instead of paying for freezing eggs, why not invest in areas that would help all parents, for example, workplace nurseries or flexible working?

While some have called it a "ground-breaking perk," Emma Barnett, Women’s Editor at The Daily Telegraph, says the "the upshot of it could be very sinister".

This is one Facebook status update that not everyone will 'like'.

By Dharshini David, Business Presenter