????蘋(píng)果（Apple）和Facebook將為女性員工冷凍卵子買(mǎi)單。這可能被視為力求在職場(chǎng)實(shí)現(xiàn)性別平等的顛覆性舉措。

????據(jù)NBC新聞報(bào)道，F(xiàn)acebook已經(jīng)從今年1月份開(kāi)始提供這項(xiàng)新福利，蘋(píng)果也將從2015年開(kāi)始實(shí)施。這兩家高科技公司是率先提供此項(xiàng)福利的大型企業(yè)。

????冷凍卵子可以使女性延長(zhǎng)自身生育期，但此項(xiàng)服務(wù)價(jià)格不菲。每次摘取卵子的費(fèi)用為1萬(wàn)美元，每年還需支付500美元的卵子儲(chǔ)存費(fèi)用。兩家公司的報(bào)銷(xiāo)上限將高達(dá)2萬(wàn)美元。

????在男性占主導(dǎo)地位的高科技企業(yè)里，這項(xiàng)福利將使女性員工在選擇生育時(shí)機(jī)上更具靈活性，尤其是鑒于許多女性將生育黃金期用于尋求事業(yè)發(fā)展。這項(xiàng)福利還可能使更多女性留在科技行業(yè)。

????在《彭博商業(yè)周刊》（Bloomberg Businessweek）一篇名為《凍結(jié)卵子，解放事業(yè)》的文章中，作者愛(ài)瑪?羅森布魯姆寫(xiě)道：“自避孕藥問(wèn)世以來(lái)，沒(méi)有哪項(xiàng)醫(yī)療技術(shù)像冷凍卵子這樣，在改變家庭與職業(yè)規(guī)劃方面具有巨大潛力?！?/p>

????美國(guó)生殖醫(yī)學(xué)會(huì)（American Society of Reproductive Medicine）評(píng)論道，此前冷凍卵子被視為“實(shí)驗(yàn)性”做法，直到最近才擺脫了這一標(biāo)簽?，F(xiàn)在醫(yī)生們認(rèn)為，只要卵子是在女性年輕時(shí)冷凍的，用冷凍卵子進(jìn)行體外受精，與用新鮮卵子進(jìn)行體外受精的成功率一樣高。

????蘋(píng)果和Facebook的新福利政策，有助于女性提前作出冷凍卵子的決定，使她們能夠更加專(zhuān)注于事業(yè)，減輕對(duì)年齡日益增長(zhǎng)的擔(dān)憂(yōu)。但是，有些人可能認(rèn)為，這只是讓女性在黃金生育年齡推遲生育以換取升職的伎倆。

????蘋(píng)果公司發(fā)言人表示：“我們希望賦予女性權(quán)力，讓她們?cè)谔O(píng)果有最好的工作，同時(shí)能照顧親人和家庭?！边@需要增加女性福利，包括“新的產(chǎn)假延長(zhǎng)政策，以及冷凍和保存卵子的補(bǔ)貼，作為女性生育補(bǔ)貼的一部分?！?/p>

????這項(xiàng)補(bǔ)貼只是蘋(píng)果和Facebook眾多豐厚福利的一部分，最近幾個(gè)月，兩家公司都在增強(qiáng)福利政策，大搞“福利競(jìng)賽”。兩家公司還為生育治療和收養(yǎng)提供補(bǔ)貼，F(xiàn)acebook還為初為父母的員工提供4000美元的“嬰兒基金”，其用途由員工自行決定。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：Lina

????In what is a likely to be seen as a game-changing move in the drive for gender equality in the workplace, Apple and Facebook will pay for female employees to freeze their eggs.

????Facebook offered the new perk as of January this year, and Apple’s benefit will go into effect at the beginning of 2015, according to NBC News. The two tech companies are among the first major corporations to offer the benefit.

????Egg freezing allows women to extend their years of fertility, although the procedure can be pricey. It can cost about $10,000 for every round of harvesting and another $500 or more each year to store the eggs. Both companies will cover costs up to $20,000.

????In the often male-dominated world of tech firms, the perk will allow women more flexibility in choosing when they want to build a family, especially as many women devote prime child-bearing years to building their careers. This perk may even help more women stay in tech.

????In a Bloomberg Businessweek article titled ‘Freeze your eggs, free your career’ author Emma Rosenblum wrote: “Not since the birth control pill has a medical technology had such potential to change family and career planning.”

????The practice of freezing eggs was previously considered “experimental” and only recently lost that label, as reviewed by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. Doctors now consider in vitro fertilization with frozen eggs to be as successful as IVF using fresh eggs, as long as the patient was young when the eggs were frozen.

????Apple AAPL -1.06% and Facebook’s FB 0.82% new policy could help women make the choice to freeze their eggs earlier, freeing them up to focus on their careers and worry less about a ticking biological clock. However, some may see it as a cynical ploy to put women off bearing children during prime fertility years in exchange for higher promotions.

????“We want to empower women at Apple to do the best work of their lives as they care for loved ones and raise their families,” said a company spokesperson. That includes expanding benefits for women, including “a new extended maternity leave policy, along with cyropreservation and egg storage as part of our extensive support for infertility treatments.”

????The coverage is just part of Apple and Facebook’s generous benefits packages, which both companies have been beefing up in a ‘perks arms race’ in recent months. Both companies also offer coverage for fertility treatment and adoption, and Facebook provides $4,000 of “baby cash” for new parents to use however they please.