Working women are in discussion for two major reasons in recent days, the first being the magnificent performance of the Indian women cricket team in the recently concluded World Cup and the second is about the period leave offered by some organisations. While the former may die down soon or be dwarfed by a better performance in future, the latter is surely going to dominate the public sphere as discussion over women at work in general and their rights, in particular, is going to stay. ? ? ?
One question, however, begins all the discussion regarding the period leave: Is it justified to give women leave at a time when they are striving for equality at work places??
Mumbai-based start-up Culture Machine swung the country with the announcement that it will offer its female employees a leave on their first day of periods. Many organisations like Gozoop and Mathrubhumi soon followed suit, prompting other firms to rethink their organisational policies when it concerns women.
Women on periods soon became the hot topic for discussion in a nation where menstruation is a taboo and heavily stereotyped, where girls are taught to keep their periods hidden from the outside world, god forbid if a male member of the house gets to know about it.?
The fight for the ¡°Right To Bleed¡± is not just restricted to India. Italy is on its way to offer menstrual leave for female workers as its Parliament is considering a proposal for a law that would force companies to grant three days of paid leave each month to female employees who experience painful periods.
If the law comes into force, Italy will become the first Western country with an official menstrual leave policy. Currently, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia have menstrual leaves for women as part of the leave policy.
Rupi Kaur
While the move has been received with much cheer, being applauded as a step towards empowering women with better support structure at work and perceived as an inclusive measure, a section of feminists & female workers is arguing that the move is silly, regressive and does not justify feminism.
For us, who are sincerely interested in bridging the gap of gender inequality, the real issue is whether period leaves are helping or impeding feminism.
A section of feminists argues?that?period policy is a regressive return to the dark days when women were discriminated based on their biology. The section also says that such policy undermines and somehow disintegrates whatever feminism has achieved so far.?
¡°I feel taking a first day off on your periods is definitely not the solution. Mensuration is not a problem or a disease that you require to call in sick. It¡¯s just another day in the life of a woman with certain bodily changes but staying at home only defeats the debate about equality¡±, says Saloni Singh, a 30-year-old journalist.
¡°Also, there are so many lady pilots, officers and doctors at the foreground, if all of us start taking a day off every month, I don¡¯t think how are we justifying feminism¡±, she adds.
For long, women have been fighting for equal rights as that of a man. Only 50 per cent of women of working age are in the labour force, compared to 77 per cent of men. ¡°Across all sectors and occupations, women on average earn less than men; in most countries, women in full-time jobs earn between 70 and 90 per cent of what men earn¡±, outlines a UN report.
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Many women see this move as regressive and are afraid that if they avail day off just to take rest on the first day of their periods, it may reflect on their pay-scale and subsequent promotion.?
Interesting, most men are in favour of period leaves. As the topic gained heat on the internet in general, and social media platforms in specific, males supported the idea lauding it for being all inclusive.
"Period leaves come across as fair enough. Periods are natural for women. Aren't they? A menstrual leave will ensure productivity levels remain buoyant and it gives the employee space and privacy. The HR can leave the option of taking a menstrual leave open - taking it or not is the employee's call. To cut a long story short, encouraging such leave options is out and out valid", says 27-year-old Prabhjeet Sethi.
A quick poll of the women in the Indiatimes team found out that most women were in favour of menstrual leaves, but they also worried that demanding extra paid days off may hamper gender equality in the workforce. Few also said that the policy could be potentially used against women to limit career growth.
Periods are not an embarrassment, they are a reality. Can the mere recognition of a biological issue and a step towards being more receptive to it makes it sexist? Women who have been dealing with it for ages and at the same time, carrying out their duties, personal or professional, opine that the move is not only a welcome change but it will also broaden the outlook and the mindset of the society which is heavily patriarchal and phallocentric.?
Internet trolls have been arguing that if women are given period leaves, they will get additional paid leaves in a year, terming it ¡°discrimination¡±. Well, men don¡¯t bleed too. Isn¡¯t that a sort of discrimination?
Women are accused of being Feminazis, just because they support period leaves. Not every woman feels it is the end of the world during her periods, or goes through earth-shattering mood swings, or feels like drowning in a tub of ice-cream or bleeds like an open tap, yet they all are seen in the same light. For some, it is simply mild inconvenience and can carry on with their work just like anyone.
everyday healthy
Well, women who do go through excruciating pain and can¡¯t carry out daily activities like a normal person, suffer from a condition called ¡®dysmenorrhoea¡¯ ¨C a condition recognised by gynaecologists around the world.
Technically, the one-day paid period leave is designed for such women.?
¡°People comparing period leaves on the grounds of equality must understand there can¡¯t be any question of equality in this case as men do not have periods at all. Had men been chumming like women every month and experiencing the same pain as we do, women could have raised the question mark on men demanding leaves against periods. I mean, in any given scenario, people could have raised a question. When women demand for equal pay, they have a rationale to support it. They work for equal number of hours as men. But this is a question about the health of an individual more than anything. Moreover, if there is enormous much work pressure that the organisation needs an employee to work on the first day of her periods, they should make a provision of working from home¡±, says 28-year-old Salma Rahman, Assistant Professor at Delhi University.?
The problem working women facing here is the norm to set male co-workers as the standard of work output to achieve in organisations. It is not only sexist in nature, but it also paves way for more workplace sexism.
It is true and justified that women, for long, have fought hard for civil liberties and equality at workplace. They have come so far their fight and now, getting menstrual leaves may jeopardise the equality women have been fighting for on the daily basis. Period leaves send a message that women are not equal to men, that they are not strong enough and are incapable of carrying out work effectively.
So, does working through physical pain, including the psychological effects, earn a glory of sorts for women? Is it seen as a benchmark of sorts that all women must look up to while at work to achieve excellence? Why is working through discomfort seen as commendable? Somehow, does it earn a person ¡®Employee of the year Award¡¯?
Workplaces that laud its employees for working through depression, sickness, and menstrual pain point directly at a capitalist structure of the society where profit is everything, making one feel guilty of wronging the company if they complain too much.
Period leaves are step forward. Not every woman would want to take offs during her periods because she might be feeling as normal as ever or she may be able to manage through the mild pain and show up at work only to distract herself from minor cramps.?
Recognising the tabooed and stereotyped biological issue women furthers the cause of Feminism and leads it into the right direction without gender biases. What of men bled? Wouldn¡¯t that be a hot topic of discussion someday that if they should be given rest at least on the first day of their periods.
The discussion is not to give a mandatory paid off to all women at workplace on the first day of their period, but to me more receptive about the issue and give an option of an off or a work from home to ailing women. A more sensitised, inclusive and evolved HR policy would do no harm. The ¡®official¡¯ day off means that women can speak about menstrual cramps in open. The male-dominant workplaces around the world do not allow such openness but a move as forward as this is set to change the scenario.
The period leave policy empowers women, de-stigmatises menstruation and menstrual cramps at the workplace, and makes a woman bold enough to tell her male boss that she needs a period day off. Period.