Both companies are now offering to pay for employees’ gender reassignment surgeries
Ever feel like your employee benefits package is a bit lacking? Netflix and Facebook are two of the most recent Silicon Valley companies to add gender reassignment surgery to their long list of company benefits. The medical treatments include hormone therapy and sex-reassignment surgery, which can be claimed through their corporate health insurance.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), has highlighted the fact that the number of US companies offering gender reassignment surgery has jumped from just 49 in 2009 to 418 in 2015.
According to a study by Jody Herman, a researcher at the University of California at Los Angeles, one in about 10,000 to 20,000 employees typically uses gender transition coverage per year, while the average claims cost was $29,929 (£19,600).
This isn’t the first time Facebook has been praised for its inclusive company policies. Last year they began offering to pay up to $20,000 for female employees to have their eggs frozen, as part of their standard corporate medical plans.
Not to be outdone, last month Netflix began offering unlimited maternity and paternity leave to its employees.
Andre Wilson from Green and Associates, who advises companies on transgender issues, says, 'We understand people simply get appendicitis, and it is something our community deals with through insurance. That's what we need to understand about transsexualism.
'Not everybody will be diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder, and in fact, few people will be. But the people who are diagnosed with it really need treatment.'