World Infertility Awareness Month

The first of June marks the start of World Infertility Awareness Month, a campaign designed to increase awareness of the prevalence of infertility, experienced by both men and women from all walks of life, across the globe.

Infertility is a complex issue that can and one that has many causes and, in some cases, no discernible cause and that is what the month is all about – improving the lives of millions of people who struggle to conceive by:

• Helping to decrease the stigma surrounding infertility.
• Encouraging communication.
• Educating and helping those struggling with infertility cope with their diagnosis and understanding that they aren’t alone in their journey to start or grow their family.

At Tokio Marine HCC International (TMHCCI), we know that undergoing fertility treatment can be a mentally, physically, emotionally and often financially challenging process, one that can have a huge impact on someone’s ability to continue working as usual. That’s why we want to support any colleague who is managing fertility issues – regardless of gender, sexual orientation or relationship status.

As with every awareness event, this isn’t about making a big noise for a month and then forgetting about it. TMHCCI is using the month to raise awareness of how hard it is for so many people to manage fertility issues and to ensure that everyone is aware of the support available to them.

To help us deliver this support, we have partnered with Fertility Matters At Work, an organisation dedicated to improving fertility support within the workplace. They are helping to make sure that we have the right educational tools and policies in place to support our people in the way they need.

The goal is to become accredited as a Fertility Friendly employer by November 2024 and to help us get there, we will be focused on the following:

• Stakeholder management - ensuring we have buy-in at all levels of the business.
• Communication and Signposting – making employees aware of the support available to them at TMHCC and signposting them to relevant resources.
• Policy and Support - putting a policy in place that meets the needs of employees going through fertility.
• Training - ensuring all employees are aware of the impacts of going through fertility treatment and also how they can better support their colleagues.

The working group is led by members of the Workplace Group whose mission is to cultivate, foster and inspire a culture of belonging and acceptance of all TMHCC team members by embracing the qualities that make us different. Our work during Infertility Awareness Month is yet another example of our commitment to that mission.

There are so many awareness weeks and months that it can sometimes feel like there isn’t enough time in the year to dedicate to them all. But if you are in any doubt about the impact that infertility has on people of every gender and sexual orientation, then take a look at these facts:

• 1 in 6 people experience infertility globally.
• The World Health Organization has recognized it as a public health issue for couples across the globe.
• Around 90,000 IVF Treatment cycles take place in the UK each year.
• A recent survey conducted by Fertility Matters at Work showed 69.5% of people took sick leave during treatment and over 68% felt their treatment had a significant impact on their mental and emotional wellbeing.
• More than a third of people consider leaving their job whilst undergoing fertility treatment.

If you are one of 3.5 million of people struggling to conceive, please don’t keep it to yourself. There is support available and perhaps most importantly, there are many others going through the same thing, people who know just how challenging it can be. If this issue doesn’t affect you personally, it may have impacted one of your colleagues in some form or other so please, give them and this month your full support.

To find out more about how we ensure our employees BELONG, click here.