By Ghanavi Umesh
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Zomato recently made news by announcing that it is allowing 10 days of paid period leave to its employees. This is not limited to women but transgender employees as well. This move by Zomato has however received mixed reactions.
Menstrual leave is not something
new. A Government Girls’ School in Kerala is known to have allowed for
menstrual leave as early as in 1912. The Bihar Government has been offering two
days of period leave to women employees since 1992. Japan too passed a law
allowing menstruating women to take leave from work in 1947.
A few countries like Japan,
Indonesia, Taiwan, Zambia and South Korea have legislations that guarantee
menstrual leave under their labour law. South Korea also has a policy of paying
extra to women who have not taken period leave.
A lot of women have welcomed
Zomato’s move while others have pointed out that period leave could result in
further discrimination against women employees.
Paid period leaves establish that
women and men are not the same and it is necessary to take the problems of
women into consideration and strive to make the workplace more equal. As much
as 84 percent of women experience period pain or cramps during their periods.
32 – 40 percent of women claim that they have had to miss school or work due to
their period pains.[1] As a
consequence, period leaves allow women to get some rest when they are unable to
work or commute.
Paid period leave policy recognizes
women’s problems, and helps put an end to the taboo of not discussing menstrual
health openly. Women will be able to take leave from work without having to lie
that they have a fever, and would be able to apply leave without any shame or
stigma. It is also a great measure in bringing awareness among men about the
problems women face during their periods and menstrual health in general. Such
period leave policies shows that the management is sensitive to women’s
problems and helps in their professional growth.
On the flip side, period leave can
be problematic as well. First of all, employers are more likely to hire men
over women if the period leave policy is in place. Employers already tend to
discriminate against hiring women in the reproductive age bracket because
they’ll have to grant maternity leave. Period leave will only give more reason
for employers to discriminate against women.
Further, some women are concerned
about their privacy. Claiming period leaves would give the employer the details
of their women employees’ menstrual cycle, and most women opine that they are
not comfortable with sharing this information with their employers.
A gynaecologist states that although
period pains can be very painful, it is not debilitating. Women can always
choose to use medication or other therapeutic measures to relieve themselves of
the pain. Regular physical exercise can also keep period cramps at bay. If the
pain is unbearable, then they must get themselves checked for fibroids or other
uterine pathological issues.
Hence, period leave still remains to
be a controversial issue. While, it provides respite to women who are genuinely
suffering from cramps during their menses, it might lead to a setback in their
respective careers.
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Ghanavi Umesh is a 2nd year student at National Law University Delhi. She has a keen interest in Constitutional law, Environmental law and Intellectual Property law. She is also interested in Economics and Philosophy. One can either find her reading something or bingeing on a TV show in her leisure time. She also loves painting occasionally.
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