Women & Workplace Benefits: What Matters at Each Stage of Life

When designing a benefits package for your workplace, it is very important to consider who you’re designing for. In Canada, nearly half of the workplace is made up of women.1 Despite this only about half of all companies are prioritizing women’s career advancement, and many are lacking the support measures that allow for advancement, such as maternity benefits, childcare support and flexible working.2

It’s critical that this change and that companies put more emphasis on advancing and supporting women. Why? Because those that do have seen accelerated growth over the past several years.3 However, this support can’t be “one and done”, because of how a woman’s circumstances and priorities shift dramatically .

Here’s a look at the benefits that matter most to women as they transition through life:

Early Career & Financial Foundation

In their early life, women are often in entry-level roles at work and just starting to build their career. Many of them are paying off student debt while paying for rent and/or trying to buy a first home. For many, this stage also includes managing reproductive health for the first time independently. Something as common as birth control can involve significant trial and error, with side effects that affect mood, energy, sleep, and overall mental wellbeing. Navigating those changes without adequate information or support can add another layer of stress during an already formative and financially stretched period. 

At this stage, having access to and understanding benefits that build financial literacy, promote long-term savings habits and support health goals can have an exponential impact. These include: 

• Group RRSP with employer match

• Financial education & budgeting workshops

• Student loan repayment assistance

• Mental health coverage (therapy, counselling)

• Access to Reya, a medication-matching tool to help women find contraceptives better aligned with their individual biology

• Professional development funding

• Mentorship programs

• Flexible work arrangements

Partnership, Family Planning & Fertility

As women age, many are progressing from independence to partnerships and growing families. This might look like long-term partnership for some and marriage for other, including managing the rising costs of a wedding. Some might be starting a family and trying to conceive, while others might be experiencing fertility challenges and are considering alternative paths to parenthood. For those that are not ready, or who are focused more on their career - or on something else - than building a family at this stage, they may be considering egg freezing as a way of keeping their future options open.

Fertility journeys can be emotionally and financially intense. Inclusive benefits are deeply meaningful. These include:

• Fertility treatment coverage

• Drug coverage for reproductive health

• Coverage for IVF, IUI, hormone treatments

• Adoption & surrogacy support

• Flexible health spending accounts

• Counselling services

Pregnancy, Postpartum & Early Parenthood

For those that take a path towards parenthood, the next phase of life is a real adjustment, with pregnancy, postpartum and early parenthood all being incredibly life-altering experiences. Women may be dealing with pregnancy symptoms while continuing to work, which is a struggle for many. They’ll be preparing for maternity leave and dealing with physical recovery after birth. For some, they’ll have postpartum mental health shifts as well as sleep deprivation. There are also childcare decisions to be made throughout this stage. And on top of it all, there are often huge identity changes that happen after you become a parent. For those who took alternative paths to parenthood, the challenges may be slightly different, but they’re equally deserving of meaningful support.

Support during this stage directly impacts retention, loyalty, and long-term career continuity. Supportive benefits include:

• Inclusive parental leave policies (including paternity, adoption, etc.)

• Top-up maternity/parental leave

• Extended health coverage during leave

• Lactation consultant coverage

• Pelvic floor physiotherapy

• Mental health support

• Childcare support programs

• Gradual return-to-work options

• Flexible or hybrid work, especially during later pregnancy or return to work

Career Growth & The “Sandwich Generation”

The sandwich generation refers to adults, typically aged 40–64, who are "sandwiched" between caring for aging parents and supporting their own children or young adult children simultaneously. If they’re in the workforce, they may also be in leadership roles and managing teams or looking for progression. Typically, they’ll be stretched thin, lean on both time and energy.

This stage often carries invisible labour: emotional, logistical, and mental. Flexibility and caregiver support matter enormously. Some benefits to consider during this phase include:

• Caregiver leave policies

• Elder care resources

• Expanded paramedical coverage

• Burnout prevention programs

• Flexible scheduling

• Increased mental health coverage

• Dependent care support

• Leadership development programs

Midlife Health & Menopause

Later in life, women start experiencing hormonal changes and we’re only now just beginning to fully understand - and talk about - the impact of these changes on women. This is when women typically start to experience perimenopause and menopause, which can be accompanied by sleep disruptions, anxiety or mood changes, and changes in bone density and cardiovascular health. Women in this phase of life also often have increased medical advocacy needs.

Supportive benefits are critical in this stage. Menopause is often overlooked in benefits design, yet it can significantly impact performance, confidence, and retention. Here are some benefits to consider for supporting your midlife workforce:

• Hormone therapy coverage

• Expanded drug formularies

• Access to menopause specialists

• Mental health benefits

• Preventive screenings

• Health spending accounts

• Wellness allowances

Pre-Retirement & Financial Transition

Just before women leave the workforce is a time when they’ll be heavily invested in retirement planning and considering how they sustain their preferred lifestyle without an employment income. They may be considering an early exit or a phased retirement plan. And they may be doing this while dealing with health challenges or supporting adult children and grandchildren.

At this stage, clarity and confidence matter more than complexity. Supportive benefits include:

• Retirement planning workshops

• Financial advisory access

• Phased retirement options

• Continued health coverage options

• Critical illness coverage

• Long-term care planning resources

Transitions, Loss & Unexpected Life Events

Life isn’t linear. At any stage, women may experience divorce or separation, miscarriage or pregnancy loss, chronic illness, caregiving crises or career breaks. Benefits that acknowledge life’s unpredictability foster trust and psychological safety. Supportive benefits for life’s unexpected events include:

• Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)

• Short- and long-term disability coverage

• Grief leave policies

• Mental health support

• Flexible benefits design

• Financial counselling

Life is a rollercoaster for everyone, but women’s specific needs are often overlooked. Designing benefits with women in mind will keep them in the workforce - and the data shows how important that is: businesses with higher representation of women in leadership and ownership frequently outperform their peers in profitability, innovation, and stability.4

If you’d like to talk to Shannon about how to make your employee benefits more inclusive, reach out - she’s ready to help.

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Citations:

1.  https://www.canada.ca/en/women-gender-equality/funding/equality-action/women-economy.html

2.  https://leanin.org/women-in-the-workplace

3. Women’s representation data from 2021 to 2024 were analyzed to identify top and bottom quartiles by company performance, where performance is measured by representation of women, relative to industry benchmarks. HR program and policy data were linked to determine the share of companies implementing specific practices. A practice was considered top performing if implementation differences between top and bottom quartiles were statistically significant in 2024 and in 2021. The difference was at least 25 percentage points in 2024.

4. A S&P Global Market Intelligence study found that firms with female CEOs and CFOs generated higher profitability and stock performance than those led by men. A report by McKinsey & Company showed that businesses in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to achieve above-average profitability. Research from Boston Consulting Group found that companies with above-average diversity in leadership teams reported innovation revenue 19 percentage points higher than those with below-average diversity.