Periods Leave, Please!
Period is the end of a sentence, but not a girl's education, says Guneet Monga, executive producer of the Oscar-winning Indian documentary “Period. End of Sentence”. Periods cannot and should not be an end to any woman’s career either. Menstruation, or what in common parlance is termed "period,” is, to date, considered taboo in society, besides carrying an unexplainable stigma.
The talk around education on menstruation and menstrual leave has gained momentum in India ever since Kerela announced the granting of menstrual leave for female students in all the state universities under the Department of Higher Education earlier in 2023. NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, has also followed steps and introduced the menstrual leave policy recently.
Medically Speaking
Painful menstruation, or dysmenorrhea, is primarily caused by hormone-like substances called prostaglandins. It has been researched that at the end of the menstrual cycle, prostaglandins increase contractions in the muscular wall of the uterus (myometrium) and cause constriction of small endometrial (innermost layer of the uterus) blood vessels. With a lesser supply of blood flow, increased intrauterine pressure, and shedding of the endometrial lining, bleeding and pain happen.
Fact Check: Worldwide
A woman typically menstruates around 500 times in a lifetime, which accounts for approximately 3,000 days of periods.
Menstrual cycles vary, but, on average, there are 13 per year. Eighty-four per cent of the menstruating workforce experience period pain at some stage.
Seventy-five per cent are affected by PMS symptoms that impacts moods and emotions.
Fifty perc ent of the women are not able to sleep well on the first two days of periods.
Sixty-nine per cent feel that period pain impacts work in a negative way.
Forty-three per cent felt embarrassed about talking to managers due to the stigma attached to the periods.
Over 2/3 of respondents feel there is no support, policy, guidance, or training by the organisation for menstruation or menstrual health. Nine days of productivity loss per year per woman because of being present at the workplace despite period pain, according to a survey by Radboud University, Netherlands
Countries With A Policy On Period Leave
Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan, Zambia, Spain, the Philippines, and Vietnam
Fact Check—Indian Context
Endometriosis Society of India
Twenty-five million people suffer from endometriosis; this makes menstrual pain so bad that women may become unconscious.
The National Family Health Survey
Forty per cent of girls miss school during their periods.
Sixty five per cent of girls feel their periods affect their daily activities at school.
The Everteen Menstrual Hygiene Survey 2023
Seventy-three per cent want period leave at workplace
Over 86.6 per cent want a menstrual-friendly workplace with support infrastructure.
Only 5.2 per cent of women are comfortable talking about it to their managers.
Legal Take
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of India rejected the Public Interest Litigation (PIL), stating that a direction should be issued to all the states to frame a policy for menstrual leave for female students and working women under the provisions of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, and that the Union Ministry for Women and Child Development should take an appropriate decision on the matter.
Other than Kerala’s initiative this year, in 1992, Bihar introduced period leave for working women. The stigma around menstruation remains—the Menstruation Benefits Bill, first introduced in Parliament in 2017 and then in the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly in 2022, was withdrawn from the latter because the subject was considered unsuitable for discussion in the “holy” institution.
Jayna Kothari, senior advocate, Supreme Court of India, and the founder of the Centre for Law and Policy Research, says, “The dismissal of PIL does not prevent the government or private employers from providing period leave. Article 15(3) of the Constitution states that the state can make special provisions for women and children, and under this guarantee of equality, the state and central government may take action.”
Women often take leave without informing their employers that they need period leave. In the absence of enough paid sick leave, women are often forced to take unpaid leave because of menstrual pain. This becomes even more difficult where the person granting the leave is a male or where a reason is to be given in writing for leave, adds Jayna.
Dynamics at the Workplace
Organisations are putting their best foot forward to adapt to the ever-changing circumstances and increasingly adopting progressive practices to accommodate a diverse workforce and nurture an inclusive environment. They have also implemented modifications to infrastructure and formulated grievance redressal mechanisms to address barriers that may arise on account of gender bias, sexual orientation, and special needs.
Some Indian companies have taken the initiative to introduce policies for period leave, acknowledging the challenges that menstruation can pose for women at the workplace.
Companies With A Period Leave Policy In India
Orient Electric, Swiggy, Culture Machine, Mathrumbi, Magzter, Wet and Dry, IndustryARC, Zomato, iVIPANAN, Gozoop Online Pvt Ltd, Horses Stable News, FlyMyBiz, and Byju’s Orient Electric is one of the select few Indian companies to have introduced menstrual leave. Aditya Kohli, CHRO of Orient Electric, says, “Our Women Connect sessions focus on listening to the experiences and expectations of our women workforce. The key discussion area that emerged in these sessions was menstrual health and hygiene. We encourage our female employees to break the stigma and apply for period leave without any hesitation.”.
Talking about HR’s role, Jayna feels that there should be sufficient and appropriate accommodations at the workplace—work from home, resting space at work, and medical help should be given to menstruating women.
Bias or no Bias
South Korea and Japan have laws granting period leave, but recent surveys showed a decline in the number of women availing of it, citing social stigma. There is also the risk of medicalising a normal biological process, which could further entrench existing biases against women, as well as the possibility that the perceived financial and productivity cost of mandatory period leaves could make employers even more reluctant to hire women.
The Menstrual Hygiene Survey 2023, conducted by Everteen, a feminine hygiene brand, revealed that 71.7 per cent of the participants in the survey do not want the menstrual leaves to be paid, fearing that it may make companies reluctant to hire female employees. Nearly 10,000 women in the age group of 18 to 35 years participated in the survey that was conducted in multiple cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, and Patna.
“We cannot deny the fact that there is a possibility of bias against hiring women employees in some organizations because of period leave. Having said that, I have not seen misuse of relaxation by women employees on the pretext of period pain, says Deepak Bharara, former CHRO for many large organisations, namely LANCO Group, Aditya Birla Group, and GMR Group (DIAL).
Deepak further adds that period leave should be need-based and not treated as an entitlement. The talk about menstruation should be normalised, which can lead to more acceptance and help in addressing and reducing negative stereotyping.
It is important to talk about menopause as well and the impact it has on women at the workplace, says Jayna. Workplaces and institutions must provide accommodations for the huge mental and physical change that menopause brings.
Implementation of menstrual leave may be a meaningful step towards breaking decades of stigma. While some organizations have only recently begun to implement the practice of providing menstrual leave, at least some talk is happening in this regard. Making way for open conversations and offering support to women in the workplace in relation to menstruation without attaching any shame to it will go a long way toward creating equitable workplaces. Is there any shame in talking about menstrual pain? Period, please.
