Fertility Matters at Work

NOVEMBER at FMAW Where to start!?........ ⛰️Our FIRST ever Fertility Summit- the F Word at Work Live in London 🥐An incredible Manchester Breakfast event 🗃BRAND NEW resources for our website to help with this conversation in the workplace 💻Webinars and Panels galore 🛩Quick visits to Dublin and Basel 🏛Another Parliament visit 📜Policy reviews for clients And just generally being awesome spreading the word about why Fertility Matters at Work.✨️✨️✨️ Bring on the last month of 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣4️⃣

Our last round of thanks go to those 'behind the scenes' of making the F word at work actually happen at the beginning of this month. The people who are just 'there' being awesome. Firstly to the ever magnificent Eleanor Nickerson-Smith always smiling, always helping and being an all round super woman behind the scenes. Next to the phenomenal Neelum Prakash at B2B-ABC who has kept us tightly together and focussed constantly in the run up and Charlie Coffey for his inspiration. All our web design and support by the lovely Amber Powers from Bloom & Brave Creative. Stuart James of Emotive Eye - Corporate Photography + Videography our very patient photographer who has captured the whole of Monday on camera. Finally, thanks to Joanna A. and Kirsty (Bailey) Wing from Deutsche Bank who helped make this incredible day happen.

We are so proud to have partnered with Headspace for our F Word at Work event at the beginning of this month. If you didn't already know, Headspace have recently added some Fertility support to their offering with some great guided meditation when you are in this midst of fertility challenges as well as conversations that help you to cope with those anxious thoughts and practice self care whilst you are in this space of uncertainty. There is also 50% for Black Friday.

Thank you to our sponsors Apricity Fertility for making the magic come to life and for believing so hard in this conversation. We are forever grateful to you and to the super smiley Kate Donnellan for supporting our events and discussions with the amazing work Apricity does.

This week we want to thank all the panelists who participated in the discussion about best practice and 'why' fertility matters so much in the workplace. This was a real reflective discussion given the people who participated are current organisations we are working with and how have implemented some positive initiatives to make sure people are supported in work. Hearing 'real' life experiences brought what we can bring to organisations in terms of our accreditation and support and also the phenomenal impact it can have on employees We heard from Rebecca Percy Diversity and Inclusion Lead at E.ON, Nicola Berry Head of Global Supply chain strategy at Diageo, Mary Knight Global Head of Corporate Values and Communications from Ferring Pharmaceuticals and Kate Donnellan, Partneships Manager at Apricity Fertility, our sponsor for this incredible event who brought a benefits angle to the conversation and highlighted how this is a layer that can have an even greater impact on the person's experience in work.

Today sees the launch of ‘Joy’- the Netflix film telling the story of the development of IVF over 40 years ago in Oldham 🙌 Our co-founder Natalie Silverman braved the snow in Basel ( where the heaviest snow fell in the shortest time causing havoc ) to speak at the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association Gender Summit 2.0 This was our second visit to what was another brilliant event showcasing the determination of the HBA to change the landscape on a wide range of women’s heath issues. It brought together leading voices from Merck Healthcare Takeda Deloitte Roche Bayer and Novartis sharing the work they they are doing from research to awareness raising to increase equity on topics including cervical cancer, ADHD, fertility and menopause and how the workplace can do more to support all of these life events. FMAW hosted an awareness raising panel sharing our insights as well as doing what we know we do best, bringing the topic to life with lived experiences which is always a privilege 🙌 Whilst Natalie waits patiently at Basel airport for another delayed flight home we want to say ‘thank you’ to Elisabeth Vey Sabine Hutchison and Gemma Masachs for inviting to us and - it was a really inspiring event and we look forward to 3.0 🙌

It's been a busy couple of weeks beyond the F Word at Work Live, with our co-founders delivering lots more educational and awareness raising events, as well as networking and flying the flag for fertility within parliament again. 🌟Tuesday 12th November saw Natalie fly to Dublin to deliver an event for Amgen, whilst there she also popped in to visit our clients CPL and Diageo. 🌟On the same day Becky was in parliament at the AXA Health Parliamentary Reception - Not putting up with it: detaching discomfort from womanhood. 🌟It was the THIS CAN HAPPEN conference on Wednesday 13th, where Becky attended to talk about exciting future plans! 🌟On Thursday 14th November Becky and Natalie hosted a virtual event for the Institute of Mechanical Engineers all about why fertility matters. 🌟 Monday 18th November saw us host another of our flagship events 'Fertility Matters at Work...and here's why' for BAE Systems. 🌟And yesterday we held our free webinar - How to become fertility friendly in 2025...if you missed it and want a copy of the recording please let us know! It really is non-stop here at Fertility Matters at Work and momentum is building, we'd love to support your organisation in 2025 - book a call to chat more about how we can help your workplace become Fertility Friendly - https://lnkd.in/e5mD5APa

Infertility may be one word, but with it comes a raft of complexities and layers. Here at FMAW we want ALL voices to be validated in this space and the second panel at the F word at Work Live last week brought together the various experiences and those very different voices to be heard. This panel highlighted eloquently that no two fertility journeys are the same and that the diversity lens is an absolute must when talking about it. We were so priviledged to have those voices on the panel and we wanted to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to everyone who talked about their own unique experiences. Shaun Greenaway Founder of Knackered Knackers and The male fertility podcast Vanessa Haye Writer and Commentator on Black Women's Health Michael Johnson-Ellis Founder of Two Dads UK and My Surrogacy Journey Aisha B. Founder of @Mind Body Revival Coach Mel Johnson Group Head of HR Services at Vodafone and Founder of The Stork and I

Last chance to register for our free webinar to find out how to make your workplace fertility-friendly in 2025! Join us on Wednesday November 20th, 12:00 – 13:00 where we’ll share how Fertility Matters at Work membership provides the tools, expert guidance, and resources you need to support employees on their fertility journeys. 📅 Register now and take the first step toward creating a more inclusive workplace: https://lnkd.in/eMCt5yUi

A huge welcome to our latest member Vodafone, the first telco to commit to becoming a fertility-friendly employer, with whom we launched our partnership with during National Fertility Awareness week. Hosted by Nicki Lyons, Exec Sponsor of Vodafone's UK Gender Equity Network, Vodafone brought together an amazing panel to share their lived experience as we delivered our 'Fertility Matters at Work and here's why' session highlighting the impact of infertility on mental health and wellbeing and why it is so important for organisations to understand the full extent of family building challenges and the effect this life event can have on a person's time at work.    Nicki commented ' At Vodafone, we’re committed to supporting our employees at every stage of their lives, and we’re excited to partner with Fertility Matters at Work, the UK’s leading training provider for fertility support in the workplace. We look forward to continuing our work with the team, including the roll-out of new Fertility training and guidance for managers across the organisation.' If you'd like to understand more about our membership support at Fertility Matters at Work, join us on Wednesday 20th November for our free webinar - 'Becoming Fertility Friendly in 2025', register for free here: https://lnkd.in/eMCt5yUi