"Citi to cover its workers' abortion travel costs as U.S. states limit access"/ "How U.S. companies are supporting workers on abortion"

Mar. 18, 2022 "Citi to cover its workers' abortion travel costs as U.S. states limit access": Today I found this article by Jenny Surane on the Financial Post:

Citigroup Inc. is starting to cover travel costs for employees seeking abortion after several states, including Texas, implemented or proposed a near-total ban on abortions.

“In response to changes in reproductive health-care laws in certain states in the U.S., beginning in 2022 we provide travel benefits to facilitate access to adequate resources,” the bank wrote in a filing for its shareholders meeting set for April 26.

The policy will cover expenses, such as airfare and lodging, that employees in places including Texas may incur if they’re forced to travel to receive an abortion, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

In Texas, where Citigroup has more than 8,500 employees, Governor Greg Abbott signed legislation last year that banned abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can occur as early as six weeks. 

Under the law, individuals can sue doctors, clinic workers and others who help a woman end an unwanted pregnancy past the cutoff date. Texas and some other states have also sought to restrict medication-induced abortions.

Citigroup, led by Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser, already has spent years in the Lone Star State’s crosshairs. The New York-based bank is seeking to revive its underwriting business in Texas after a law barred local governments from working with companies that discriminate against firearm entities prompted the firm to suspend its municipal-debt underwriting there for several months.

The bank follows companies including Match Group Inc. and Bumble Inc. in responding to Texas’s near-total abortion ban. 

Match CEO Shar Dubey, whose Dallas-based company owns some of the biggest dating apps, said last year she was creating a fund to help cover the costs for employees and dependents who need to seek care outside the state. 

Lyft Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. pledged to pay legal fees for drivers sued under the Texas law. Medical insurance provided by Apple Inc. also covers travel expenses for out-of-state abortions, chief executive Tim Cook has told employees.

Davia Temin, founder of New York-based crisis consultancy Temin and Co. and a Citigroup executive in the 1980s, said other politically progressive banks may follow the financial giant’s lead.

“Good for Citi. Under Jane Fraser they really are making great strides in equity, pay and otherwise,” Temin said. “Their decision just announced puts their female employees first, over the political wrangling of the day. They listened. Employees don’t forget that, they won’t forget that and they shouldn’t forget that.”

Citigroup’s so-called proxy filing, posted after market hours on Tuesday, also provided an update on hiring and developments in compensation.

The bank ended the year with more than 223,000 workers around the world. The company enlisted 47,000 new employees in 2021, and filled an additional 27,000 roles through internal hiring, meaning nearly one-third of its staffers are new to the organization or to their jobs, Citigroup said.

In the U.S., the banking giant said it made some progress toward closing the racial pay gap in 2021. Minorities made 4 per cent less than non-minorities did in 2021, an improvement from 6 per cent a year earlier.

Still, on a global basis, median pay for women was 26 per cent less than for men, a disparity similar to a year earlier.

Citigroup remains one of the few major companies to disclose its unadjusted pay gap. Instead, many of its competitors offer an adjusted look that takes into account an employee’s role and location. On that basis, women globally are paid on average more than 99 per cent of what men are paid at Citigroup.

“Gender parity is something we demonstrate from the very top of our organization,” Citigroup said in the so-called proxy filing. “Eight of our 15 members of the board of directors are women and three are ethnic minorities. Jane Fraser is our first female CEO — and is the first woman to lead a major U.S. financial institution.”

Citi to cover its workers' abortion travel costs as U.S. states limit access | Financial Post

May 3, 2022 "How U.S. companies are supporting workers on abortion": Today I found this article by Alex Millson on the Financial Post:

The bombshell leak of a United States Supreme Court draft ruling overturning the right to abortion has put the issue to the forefront of the coming U.S. election battle, and will likely reverberate around boardrooms across the nation as well.

The decision, reported by Politico, would see the half-century-old Roe vs. Wade ruling axed, allowing individual states to decide on their own abortion restrictions. When Texas last year banned procedures after the six-week mark, some companies in the state condemned the move, arguing that it would deter top talent, and offering assistance to workers seeking abortions.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, which researches sexual and reproductive health and rights globally, 26 states are “certain or likely” to ban abortion if Roe vs. Wade is overturned, which will force many people across the country to travel lengthy distances for treatment.

That may put further pressure on companies to find ways for their employees to receive the reproductive care services they’ve been entitled to for half a century.

Here’s how some of the nation’s biggest corporates are currently helping workers:

Citigroup

The New-York-based bank, which is headed by its first female chief executive officer, Jane Fraser, and has some 8,500 employees in Texas alone, pledged to cover travel costs for employees seeking abortions. A source said the costs covered could include airfares and lodging if necessary.

Match

The Dallas-based parent company of dating apps including Tinder and OkCupid, set up a fund to support staff after Texas’s near-total abortion ban came into effect in late 2021. Chief Executive Officer Shar Dubey described the ban as “so regressive to the cause of women’s rights that I felt compelled to speak publicly about my personal views.” The fund aims to cover the costs for employees and dependents who need to seek care outside of Texas. Rival dating app Bumble has set up a similar fund.

Yelp

With more than 4,000 workers in the U.S., Yelp will next month roll out a new travel benefit which “allows our U.S. employees and their dependents to have equitable access to reproductive care, regardless of where they live.” A person familiar with the matter said the benefit, announced before the draft ruling was leaked, would be offered through the company’s insurance provider.

Lyft and Uber

Describing the Texas abortion law as an “attack on women’s access to health care,” Lyft Inc. Chief Executive Officer Logan Green said last week that the ride-hailing company is working with health providers to cover the cost of rides for women in Texas and Oklahoma — which outlawed abortion last month — who seek out of state care. Both Lyft and Uber have also pledged to pay legal fees for any of their drivers sued under anti-abortion laws for helping women seek out the procedure.

Salesforce

Chief Executive Officer Marc Benioff told employees in September that the company would help any employees living in Texas to relocate out of the state if they wished to move in response to strict abortion laws.

Levi’s

The jeans-maker said any employee who opts into their health-care plans will be eligible for reimbursement of travel costs for abortions, including part-time workers.

Apple

The company has said it will cover the cost of abortions and travel for treatment for its retail workers.

GoDaddy

The web hosting company last year gave the group Texas Right to Life 24 hours to find a new provider, after the anti-abortion rights group set up a website encouraging people to send anonymous tips about alleged violations of the state’s laws. GoDaddy said the group had breached the terms of service.

Amazon

Amazon on Monday told employees in the U.S. that it would cover up to US$4,000 in travel expenses related to medical procedures including abortion services. The policy is retroactive to Jan. 1 for employees and their dependents covered by two company-offered health plans, Reuters reported, and covers services rendered if care is not possible to be offered virtually or available within 100 miles of an employee’s home. Such a distance is typically referred to as an abortion desert; as of 2017, there were 27 cities with populations over 100,000 that qualified for such a title.

How U.S. companies are supporting workers on abortion | Financial Post