Cleo’s family benefits platform is designed to be inclusive and supportive of diverse families and various paths to parenthood. While other family benefits were created to support maternity care and later adapted, Cleo’s model has been inclusive from day one.
What an inclusive family benefits platform looks like
Inclusive family support for LGBTQIA+ people is critical to any benefits strategy. 63% of LGBTQIA+ millennials are considering becoming parents for the first time or adding another child to their family and about 2/3 use assisted reproductive technology, foster care, or adoption to become parents. Employer fertility benefits are worth, on average, $36,000 to the individual. However, among companies that offer aid in adoption, coverage is much lower, averaging around $8,000 per employee. As family-forming benefits continue to grow, there’s an increased need to design them to be more equitable and inclusive of all paths to parenthood.
Cleo’s inclusive family benefits platform supports LGBTQIA+ families
Cleo’s personalized support centers on the relationship between member and Guide. Every family is matched with their own Cleo Guide, a health and caregiving expert, who stays with them for their entire journey and provides proactive advice and support on all relevant topics across health, caregiving, relationships, and career.
Cleo Guides are experienced in supporting many different types of families and parents, including LGBTQIA+ families, transgender parents and children, single parents, families that pursue IUI or IVF, adoption, surrogacy, and more.
“I didn’t need to take a typical generic pre-birth class because as a single guy, those classes were not created for me.”
Kyle, Cleo member who welcomed a baby via surrogate
Transgender family benefits with Cleo
In regards to transgender parents and children, specifically, Cleo has Guides on staff with both professional and personal experience of parenting and raising children in the transgender community. This includes experience with parenting transgender children, trans pregnancy, childbirth for trans men and nonbinary people, and more.
In situations where a Cleo family has a parent or child who is transgender, Cleo can match this family with a Guide who has professional or personal experience supporting trans families on request. This is done with the goal of offering an even higher degree of personalized support built on mutual understanding of a certain experience of family building.
Families connect with their Guide and care teams whenever needed via the Cleo app, which is also a gateway to personalized resources, health and caregiving tips, live group workshops with experts, and more. Topics specific to LGBTQIA+ families include:
- Reproductive and family planning for all
- Protecting and addressing parents’ and children’s mental health
- Raising kids without gender stereotypes
- Why pronouns matter
- Ways to use LGBTQIA+ supportive language at home
- Processing feelings when a child comes out
- Supporting your child when they want to discuss gender identity
- How to be an ally for the LGBTQIA+ community
“Whatever your path looks like, know that there are likely others who have gone before you and can offer support.”
Mac, Cleo member who welcomed a baby via transgender pregnancy
Why inclusion is good for business
For employers, creating an inclusive workplace is essential to employee engagement, retention, and even revenue. Millennials—now the largest demographic group in the workforce—are 38% more likely to actively engage when they believe their company fosters an inclusive culture. What’s more, highly inclusive companies generate 1.4x more revenue. Prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion goes far beyond “feel good” benefits for employees. It’s an integral part of building a competitive company and positioning yourself for future growth.
At Cleo, LGBTQIA+ Pride is more than just an annual celebration. The values of diversity and inclusion that inform our benefits offering are imperative to our work culture as well. We work diligently year-round to ensure all Cleople are supported equitably, feel a sense of belonging, and are able to bring their authentic, best selves to work.