Fertility at Work: The Hidden Retention & Wellbeing Crisis
Fertility treatment is already happening inside your organisation, whether you see it or not.
From early-morning scans and hormone injections in office bathrooms to emotional burnout and silent sick leave, fertility journeys quietly shape performance, wellbeing, and retention at work. Yet 68% of employees don’t tell HR, and 59% don’t tell their manager due to fear, stigma or career impact.
This session is designed for HR leaders, managers, DEI leads, founders, and people teams who want to build genuinely supportive, high-performing workplaces, without guesswork, awkward conversations, or policy gaps.
Led by Caroline Biddle, fertility workplace researcher and founder of Working Through Fertility, and Clara Toombs, fertility patient, advocate and founder of Fertilia AI, this session blends research, lived experience, and practical frameworks you can immediately apply.
What You’ll Learn
What fertility treatment actually involves, logistically, emotionally, and physically
Why silence creates burnout, disengagement and attrition
The real business impact: productivity, sick leave, and retention
How managers can confidently support employees (what to say and what not to say)
What good fertility support actually looks like in practice
The 5-Step Fertility Support Framework for building lasting workplace change
Who This Is For
HR & People Leaders
Line Managers
DEI & Wellbeing Leads
Founders & Senior Leaders
Anyone responsible for culture, performance, or retention
Whether you’re building fertility policies from scratch or improving existing support, this session will give you clarity, confidence, and practical tools to lead with empathy and retain your best people.