Whatever happened to the 'period day off' policy?
By Raksha Kumar
Over the next week, we'll be looking back at some of our favorite stories to see "whatever happened to ..."
Culture Machine was acquired by another agency in 2019 that did not respond to queries about the period day off. But the second pioneering period day company GoZoop has continued the policy. And they're part of a growing trend.
Earlier this year, Spain became the first European country to institute a policy on period leave. "The days of ... going to work in pain are over," said Spanish Equality Minister Irene Montero when the period proposal was first announced, granting 3 days off with a doctor's note as corroboration and the possibility of extending the leave to 5 days.
the country's highest court seeking menstrual leave for students and workers across India. The court dismissed the petition, saying it was the job of the lawmakers to institute such a policy and not the judiciary.Two months later, a Parliamentary Committee lawmakers to consider enacting a law guaranteeing period leave. The policy "will have a positive impact on the female labor force participation rate in the formal sector and will help the gender dividend for inclusive and broad-based growth," it said.
and roughly before the 2021 Taliban takeover."It is an issue of wellness, trusting employees and gender equity, and these impact all of us," says Sudha Shashwati, a consultant psychologist and professor in Dehradun. "Paid menstrual leaves are a recognition that the workplace is not meant to be just for those who possess the male body."
Nikhil Naren, an assistant professor at Jindal Global Law School who specializes in competition law, says it is in the company's favor to grant period leave. "I think women forced to work when their body is not keeping up have higher chances of affecting their productivity," he says.
The policy has its share of detractors now just as it did when we first covered it. Back in 2017, journalist Barkha Dutt, "First-day period leave may be dressed up as progressive, but it actually trivializes the feminist agenda for equal opportunity, especially in male-dominated professions," in an opinion piece for "Worse, it reaffirms that there is a biological determinism to the lives of women, a construct that women of my generation have spent years challenging."
But the idea of a period day off has strong supporters. Chetna Negandhi, director of brand communications for GoZoop, says: "When they announced this policy back in 2017, the first thought that came to my mind was that we were being heard and cared for. I can have the comfort and space I need on that day ... without compromising my professional responsibilities."
