(Image source from: Facebook)

In what can be called female-friendly move, tech-giants Facebook and Apple have found a unique idea to reduce the gender gap in their offices. Both the companies have offered women employees to pay the cost of freezing their eggs.

The move will enable female employees to focus on their careers for a longer time as they can delay child bearing for some more years. It's an attempt to narrow the the gender gap and to provide equal opportunities for male and female employees.

The two tech-majors have reportedly have offered to freeze a woman’s eggs as a perk, which is a first of its kind.The companies said they would provide coverage to female employees who want to  freeze their eggs and delay childbearing.

Both Facebook and Apple pledged to cover costs up to 20,000 dollars towards the procedure and also the cost of annual storage to help women in delaying parenthood.

Recently Facebook started covering the costs of egg freezing for its women employees. While Apple will begin to cover female employees from January onwards.

The unique move from the two tech firms comes at a time when companies are increasingly facing  pressure over diversity at the workplace. Tech firms have been under pressure for long to increase the ratio of female employees, in a sector that is pre-dominantly male-dominated.

(AW: Pratima Tigga)