One in six couples go through fertility treatment while at work, according to research by the charity Fertility Network UK, published in March 2024. This figure, however, does not include couples who are in LGBTQ+ relationships or single parents.
More than three quarters (77%) of LGBTQ+ people between the ages of 18-35 are already parents or are considering having children, the research showed.
LGBTQ+ people in the UK can become a parent through donor insemination, intrauterine insemination, surrogacy, adoption or fostering and co-parenting, according to NHS UK.
When asked about the barriers to conversations about fertility in the workplace for LGBTQ+ people, Blake told HR magazine: “There’s a combination of stigma, information gaps and misunderstanding about how much [employers] need to know.”
This could lead to questions around whether LGBTQ+ people want to have families, Blake suggested, or not knowing the diversity of ways they can approach that, as well as the obstacles to doing so.
Read more: Four tips on LGBTQ+ inclusion from Stonewall London Workplace Conference
Blake pointed to obstacles such as LGBTQ+ people thinking about surrogacy needing to live in another country for a period. “If you work [at a large organisation] that may be possible. If you’re in a small business then it clearly isn’t going to be possible,” he said.
“Sometimes people don’t value LGBTQ+ relationships with the same status as they might, so they can be the opposite of open to and aware of what’s happening,” he suggested.
Speaking on a panel at the Fertility Matters At Work live event on 4 November, Michael Johnson-Ellis, founder of Two Dads UK, a same-sex surrogacy support provider, and My Surrogacy Journey, a non-profit organisation, shared that he was told he had committed “career suicide” when he shared his fertility issues at work.
Though he was not out as gay at work at the time, he remembered that a HR representative had asked him: “Why do you want children? You’re gay,” after he confided in his CEO about his difficulties accessing surrogacy care.
Non-birthing and non-biological parents in the LGBTQ+ community have seen a rise in discrimination, and a lack of support, according to the family consultancy LGBT Mummies, which contributed to the Fertility Network UK research.
Employers should ensure that LGBTQ+ employees feel able to go to them for support, Blake commented.
“We want everybody to know that it’s okay to talk if they want to know what support is available, and that managers and others feel confident to have the conversations,” he said.
Read more: How HR can create a trans inclusion policy
This starts with inclusive language around family building, Blake noted.
“Even things like the language of fertility matters. In the same way family planning clinics were often thought to be only for women and those who are planning families, we’ve got to make sure that our language really reflects [experiences],” he continued.
“[We should] be really thoughtful in a workplace about how we talk about fertility, having children, and routes to parenthood; that we build on the existing language around fertility and increase that so it feels much more inclusive, because we want everybody to feel seen and included.”
Blake cautioned, however, that HR should not feel as though they need to be experts on the topic of fertility. “We are in the context of work. One line manager, or one HR manager cannot be expected to know everything.
“Ask the questions of ‘what do you need?’ rather than assuming [what employees] need,” he advised.
While family building policy can set the framework for these conversations and support, “there isn’t one policy”, Blake noted.
Instead of creating a separate policy, HR could build on existing policies to support the employee in need, he suggested.
“Policies are your framework, but if you’re confident in your role as a line manager, or HR manager, find how you work with that policy to do your best for the person who is in front of you.”
