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For tech companies worldwide, it’s a struggle — how to address gender imbalance? Is it maternity leave? Painting the walls a soft pink? More role models? Vegetarian potlucks?

It seems that for all their brainpower, no major tech companies have yet solved the riddle of gender imbalance. (Or diversity full stop, for that matter.)

Enter IBM. With women making up only 29% of its staff, it has a higher mountain to climb than most. With that in mind it decided to take some bold steps.

In a decision that sounds like it could live on as an infamous boondoggle, IBM is now offering working mothers deliveries of breast milk. 

Breastfeeding mothers are being put off by being unable to breast feed their baby while away on business. But now, when they’re away they can outsource their worry to IBM who will deliver their fresh, “temperature controlled” breast milk back to their youngsters at home.

At least one obvious consequence of the policy is that their neighbours will develop a paranoia about their milkman switching their bottles by accident.

IBM joins Apple and Facebook in their testing of new waters. (The latter two both offer female employees the opportunity to freeze their eggs).

Of course, the real root of their trouble lies in the low uptake of relevant STEM subjects by women in higher education. We wonder if the tech giants’ time and money could be better spent in early intervention.

Either way, we wish IBM the best of luck with its trailblazing new policy. And if it doesn’t pan out, well – no use crying over spilt breast milk.

About the author

Jerome Langford

Jerome is a graduate in Philosophy from St Andrews, who alternately spends time writing about HR and staring wistfully out of windows, thinking about life’s bigger questions: Why are we here? How much lunch is too much lunch? What do you mean exactly by ‘final warning’?