Leigh Gallagher describers her decision to freeze her eggs and how having this option “to put the biological clock on hold is incredibly empowering.”

Leigh Gallagher: Having this option to freeze your eggs and put the biological clock on hold, basically, I think it’s incredibly empowering.  When you look at men and women, and men and women in the workplace, you do see a lot of women leave the workplace for a few years, women on very high-track careers, to have children.  And then they come back sometimes and then they continue to do amazing things. 

I mean, I edit our Fortune 40 Under 40 list and we consistently have a problem finding women in their 30s who match the achievement of the men on the list, and it’s a constant struggle for us. And one of the reasons—I mean I’ve looked into this a lot—one of the reasons is that, you know, if a woman wants to have children it’s usually between the ages of 30 and 40 that they’re going to do it.  So they—you know, you have to pull back even if you have all the child care in the world.  It’s just—there’s just a fact about it that it’s just, you know, it unevens the playing field for men and women a little bit during that time. 

I don’t think that this is going to solve that problem. I think that this is an option for people with, you know, who have a very specific set of circumstances.  They either haven’t met someone yet and want to have children with a partner. They, in many cases, it’s done by women who have to undergo medical treatment that might damage their fertility, and it’s a wonderful thing for that.  And then sometimes it’s for people who just aren’t ready just yet but want to keep their options open. 

Directed / Produced by
Jonathan Fowler & Elizabeth Rodd