Is Menstrual Leave a Basic Worker Right?

By Haneen Elmeswari

Posted at 11:00 AM EDT, Fri October 14, 2022

This past May, Spain joined the short life of countries to approve a draft proposal that included granting workers “menstrual leave”. Under this plan, the government would support a menstruator's right to take the necessary days off work if they become diagnosed with extreme menstrual pain. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, more than half of women experience some pain for one or two days of the month. For people with endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, or uterine fibroids, this can last for much longer. 

Even for people without outstanding health concerns regarding their period, menstruation can become an obstacle in someone’s work or school life. In fact, a study done in the Netherlands found that 80% of women felt less productive due to their period symptoms for over 23 days per year. 

Menstrual leave would allow menstruators to take the necessary time off to rest during their periods, allowing them to return to work rejuvenated and focused. Introducing menstrual leave would also help address the taboo surrounding periods, and allow them to be something that is taken just as seriously as the common cold. 

Even with the progress we’ve made in addressing women’s bodily autonomy, period stigma is still alive and well. Because of this, many working menstruators feel reluctant to ask for leave because of their periods and have often lied about reasons they needed a sick day to cover up period pain. Periods are still seen as a sign of inferiority to many people, and menstruators fear that taking the necessary time off during their periods might put them on the back burner for career advancements such as promotions. 

Spain is the first European country to introduce menstrual leave after Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Zambia. Currently, there are only a few companies in the US that offer menstrual leave. Chani, a queer and feminist tech company known for its popular astrology app, has included unlimited menstrual leave as one of the benefits in their job descriptions. In their policy, employees can request a day off by contacting their manager, and it will be granted automatically. The company has found great success in the policy, citing that over 60% of employees have used it at least once. 

The benefits of menstrual leave include finally opening dialogue surrounding period pain and struggles. Employees will no longer feel they need to push through debilitating symptoms in order to stay on track in the workplace. However, it's important that these policies be done tactfully. Introducing such policies would have to also include company-wide education. It should be known that offering menstrual leave is not in response to the idea that people who menstruate can’t function, or that they’re emotionally unstable and unfit for the workplace. 

Menstrual leave obviously comes with an opposing view as well. In a 2017 survey published in the Health Care for Women International journal, half of the 600 respondents believed menstrual leave would have negative impacts, citing concerns that the leave would be abused for other purposes and that such policies would be unfair to non-menstruators. Menstrual leave has even been referred to as ‘special treatment’ and a disservice to feminism. 

However, why is it that we view an illness with debilitating symptoms as more than enough reason to request time off while doing it for something such as a period would be considered ‘special treatment?’

This then shifts the conversation as to whether menstrual leave should be considered a basic worker right or not. Menstrual leave of course has its own legal ramifications in that it only applies to menstruators— and, more specifically, those who are of menstruating age and have an intact reproductive system. Employers would need to implement policies in a way that would not create illegal discrimination, such as policies that discriminate based on race, gender, or age. 

However, it can be argued that that is the responsibility of an employer, to create policies that make an employee feel heard, safe, and taken care of. That means making the necessary adjustments to ensure that menstruating concerns are included. Seeing as this is not a gender issue (people who don’t identify as women can also get periods), but rather a worker's health issue, there is no reason why it should create a case of discrimination in the workplace.

Providing menstrual leave is a commitment to improving the lives of workers by making sure they don't have to choose between getting paid, risking their health, or suffering illness, discomfort, or pain. It is a tangible way to ensure equality and accessibility in the workplace.

Orginally Published on w27newspapers.com