‘It’s cruel to give false hope’

Jody Day is a psychotherapist and author. She is also the founder of Gateway Women, a global support network for childless women. She says, “Offering egg freezing may sound like a generous business perk, but Goldman Sachs is selling its female employees false hope, and I think that’s wrong.

“The finance giant is suggesting you can continue to climb the career ladder during your 20s and 30s because you have the safety net of being able to use frozen eggs at a later date. But in order for a woman to use their frozen eggs, they will have to go through IVF – which, sadly, is not the miracle treatment that many of us think it is.

“IVF has helped millions, but what is less known is it has failed more than it’s helped – the science behind IVF is still very new, and the European failure rate is 73 per cent. For Goldman Sachs to be offering it as some kind of insurance against age-related fertility decline is deeply cynical.

“Not only that, but it’s a traumatic process, too. I know how heartbreaking it is to come to the realisation you’ll never have children. I was unable to conceive with my ex-husband, despite the doctors saying there was no reason for our infertility. I was 38 when we separated. A fiveyear relationship that followed also ended without a child.

“In my opinion, Goldman Sachs offering women egg freezing isn’t kind, it’s cruel.”

● Visit Gateway-women.com for more info. Jody’s book Living the Life Unexpected (Bluebird) is out now.