Facebook and Apple are covering the costs for female employees to freeze their eggs to delay childbearing which could hamper their careers, NBC News has reported.
The companies are covering up to $20,000 (€15,800) for the procedure and annual storage costs, NBC said, citing sources at the Silicon Valley firms.
Queried about the reports by the AFP news agency, both Facebook and Apple declined to comment.
According to the online forum eggsurance.com the procedure is gaining popularity as more women delay plans to start a family.
"Women today are at a cultural and generational crossroads. We have the same career expectations and demands as men," says a post on the eggsurance.com website.
According to the website, citing US government data, 20% of women wait until age 35 to have their first child.
Around one third of women aged 35-39 have fertility problems and the proportion increases to 64% when women are 40-44 years old.
According to NBC, Facebook recently began covering the costs of egg freezing and Apple will begin to do the same in January.
The moves come with technology firms facing renewed pressure over diversity in a male-dominated sector.
In recent weeks, major firms have been looking at the issue with diversity reports that examine the composition of the workforce.
Microsoft reported earlier this month that its staff was only 29% women. While at Google, the figure was 30%. For Facebook the percentage of women was 31%, however, just 15% of those are in technical jobs.
The new benefits are expected to help companies like Facebook and Apple attract more women.
Though, experts point out that freezing is a relatively new procedure that does not guarantee a successful pregnancy.
