In recent years, we've seen a growing expectation from consumers and from employees that businesses start to stake out positions on certain social issues. That being said, for a lot of companies, abortion has remained a third rail. Abortion is an issue that's so fraught with morality for some people that they are just not willing to stake social and political capital by weighing in on the issue. But what's weird about the other social issues that we weigh in on is that they are too. So i wonder if there's a pendulum kind of pulling in both ways, and this becomes a polarized thing, just like everything else in culture wants to.
When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the American legal landscape instantly changed. So did the business landscape, since more than half of Americans rely on their employers for healthcare—and that includes reproductive healthcare. Abortion as a critical workplace issue is now top-of-mind for organizations coming to grips with how they can and should respond to a post-Roe world.
Emma Goldberg covers the future of work for The New York Times and has been asking big questions about abortion since the Supreme Court’s decision came down: “How will this decision reshape workplace policies? What influence will it have on the job market? How do employees want their employers to respond? How do consumers want businesses to respond? Why does this issue in particular feel so fraught?”
This week on Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans ask Emma about the answers she’s been hearing.
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