How Taft-Hartley funds can support women members across every life stage

The conditions and care needs women face at 25 look very different from those they face at 45 or 55, and benefits packages should reflect that reality. Here’s a way of looking at benefits design for women less as a category and more as a continuum.

When teenage dependents don't get the support they need, it often shows up later as a more complex, costly health issue. Adolescent girls face disproportionately higher rates of depression, eating disorders and suicidal ideation compared to boys — and unaddressed mental health concerns can compound into substance use challenges over time.²

Plans that cover dependents should include meaningful access to behavioral health services, preventive care, sexual health resources and STI testing and treatment. Equally important: flexible work arrangements and leave policies that allow parents and caregivers to act when their children's health needs arise.

As young women enter the workforce, they become plan participants or covered dependents of their spouses’ health plans. Any health concerns that emerged in adolescence often persist or intensify.

According to UMR data, women make up 21.3% of the workforce and 88.2% of covered spouses in labor-sponsored plans,¹ while medical benefit utilization reaches 94% among women versus 81% among men. That gap reflects the reality that women access care more frequently, manage more complex conditions, and — when benefits fall short — often delay or forgo care in ways that raise costs downstream.

Women are also more susceptible to certain high-cost conditions than men:¹

These are chronic, ongoing conditions that generate significant claims activity year after year. For plan sponsors and trustees, this is a plan design issue as much as a health issue. Ensuring working-age women have adequate coverage for the conditions most likely to affect them is one of the most direct levers available to protect workforce productivity and long-term plan value.

For women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, reproductive health is often the most pressing benefit need. Approximately 1 in 5 couples have difficulty getting pregnant after a year of trying.³ As the workforce ages and family formation continues to occur later in life, fertility-related coverage (including reproductive planning support) is becoming a more common and meaningful offering. For example, in 2025, 35% of those surveyed offered their workforces benefits related to preconception planning, up from 32% in 2023 and 2024.⁴

Once pregnant, many women often have specific preferences about labor and delivery. The doula and birth coaching market is growing, and employers that include these options in their coverage signal a commitment to whole-person maternal care. Resources that help new parents coordinate care after delivery also matter — as they may reduce unnecessary utilization and support a smoother return to work.

One of the most underrecognized — and underserved — periods in women's health is perimenopause, the transitional phase that typically presents itself in the 40s.⁵ Women in this stage may experience a whole slew of symptoms, ranging from brain fog or trouble concentrating, increased anxiety, night sweats and fatigue.⁵

Perimenopause gives way to menopause in the 50s; the average age at menopause is 52.⁶ Since 86% of women ages 50 to 54 and 79% of women ages 55 to 60 remain in the workforce, there are direct workforce implications.⁷

These are experienced, tenured workers whose departure represents a significant loss of institutional knowledge and bargaining unit stability. In fact, 67% of women between the ages of 40–60 reported difficulties at work while managing menopause symptoms, including lack of concentration, increased stress and difficulty physically carrying out work tasks.⁸

A recent report identified access to menopause support as a key factor in retaining female workers.⁹ Plan sponsors that cover evidence-based treatments — including hormone replacement therapy (HRT), medications that address hot flashes and osteoporosis prevention — may be in a stronger position to retain this segment of their workforce. Educational resources and access to wellness programs round out a comprehensive approach.

For labor consultants, the through-line here is the same one that underlies any sound benefits strategy: Proactive management produces better outcomes than reactive corrections. When a plan fails to address the health needs of its female plan participants or their spouses across their lifespans, the costs do not disappear — they surface later, in more expensive forms. Delayed diagnoses, unmanaged chronic conditions and preventable gaps in care all increase total cost of care over time.

The good news is that targeted benefit design can be a cost management strategy. When plan sponsors invest in women's health at each stage of life, they help reduce high-cost interventions, improve  engagement and strengthen the long-term sustainability of the fund.