The Economic Ripple Effect of Taking Away Our Right to Choose

This week, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that established the constitutional right to abortion. As I commented when the announcement was made, it is a sad day for our personal freedom, for women’s rights, and for future generations.?

However, there is also more to this decision than the impact in the here and now. In reality, the reversal of Roe v. Wade goes much further, and I believe it will have a far reaching impact on the economy more widely.?

While I recognize that I am not an American citizen, all women can’t help but feel this decision very deeply, and as a female CEO of a market leader in workforce management, I felt it was essential to share my thoughts, predictions and fears about the ruling.

Preventing equal opportunities for women into the working world

Let’s start with the social and economic blockers that this legislation causes for women, none of which are new consequences, but which are always worth repeating.?

According to a study by Princeton, childbirth is the main contributor to the gender pay gap. As soon as women give birth, their earning potential drops by 20% compared to their male peers in the workplace, and this increases with every child. (Men’s earning potential jumps by 6% when they become fathers, in case you were wondering.) It’s no wonder that this year, the median age for giving birth hit 30 for the first time, as women increasingly look to build up their careers first, before taking on the financial toll of motherhood.??

With the reversal of Roe v. Wade, and women losing control over when and how they become mothers, many will be unable to finish education, complete higher education, take on graduate roles, and climb the career ladder to more senior positions before (or instead of) turning their attention to starting a family. From the gender pay gap, to school drop offs, childcare responsibilities, and the majority of the mental load which comes with having a child, there’s no way to prevent a giant step backwards in terms of diversity and equality in the workplace.?

Recognizing that there is no easy way out

I’ve seen a lot of people ask this week, “Why can’t women just move? Simply relocate if you don’t want to be in a State which rolls back abortion rights!” I feel strongly that this is a naive thing to suggest. Relocation isn’t always an option, especially in low-income areas where many people will suffer the most from this ruling. Even if relocation is possible, that doesn’t make it practical - and many young people get support from living near their families, or only have contacts, opportunities, or knowledge regarding the areas where they have grown up - making it extremely aggressive to suggest relocation as an easy answer.

Impacting the economic stability of the United States

While on an individual level, relocating can be an impossible move, that’s not true on an enterprise level. This week’s decision will also have a direct impact on any company that has a presence in U.S states that implement anti-abortion laws. Google has already announced internally that they are happy to relocate any employees “no questions asked.” Google has a large U.S presence in California, where abortion rights are protected, and has four offices in States where abortion is illegal, or rights are likely to be rolled back - Florida, Texas, Wisconsin, and Georgia.

As companies like Meta, Amazon, Conde Nast, Apple, and Netflix also voice their objections to the ruling and offer to pay employees’ costs for accessing reproductive care out of state, it’s clear that organizations are already beginning to ask themselves hard questions. Are States that don’t support reproductive healthcare the right places to grow their teams?

For enterprises that were considering expanding their footprint into mid-America, this could be an easy decision, simply taking expansion to this area off the table, or sticking to ‘safe’ regions such as New York or California. They may even feel like they have dodged a bullet. After all, if a company’s culture is against the mindset of the State, it’s going to be much harder for them to relocate into that region and see success.

Even for those who already have an existing presence, it may be a matter of relocating some employees, and then just maintaining the employee base which exists at this time, and not growing it any further. Suddenly, there are fewer opportunities in these States. This reduces the career options of residents to work for emerging start-ups who wouldn’t take the risk of incorporating locally, or for large Fortune companies that could previously have supported and propelled their career growth.

For businesses that do look to put down roots in-region, they might find that these previously growing tech hubs like Texas may well have changed overnight. Even with strong educational systems in place, companies in these regions may find a lack of skilled talent to hire from, simply because they are based in a region where abortion laws do not support a woman’s right to choose.

With economic disparity between States inevitable at this point, and economic growth by corporations continuing to divide the economic potential of the country in two, the long-term impact of the reversal of Roe v. Wade could well be catastrophic to the U.S economy. We’re looking at a dangerous level of instability for each and every workforce currently doing business in the United States, and this is something that could take many years to solve, if at all.

Our right to fight for positive change can’t be reversed

There is no doubt that this is a ridiculously hard situation, and it can be tough to find a glimmer of hope when women’s rights are being challenged so brazenly. However, if there is one to be found - it’s this.

50 years ago, women were not an equal voice in the workplace and we had far less ability to affect change. Today, we have a voice. Women are 46% of the U.S labor force. We have an equal vote, we can make a difference, and we can work towards getting this reversal overturned or federal abortion protections reinstated.

Be active, ensure that you’re voting, get involved in local politics or see what you can do internally to make a difference to support women in your own business. Just because it feels like the world is moving backward doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look forward and keep up the fight.?