Why menstrual leave could be bad for women
- Written by Sally King, PhD Candidate, Department of Global Health & Social Medicine, King's College London
Spain recently adopted a menstrual leave policy[1], which makes additional (paid or unpaid) days off work available to “only and all cisgender women[2]”.
It’s so great that we’re having more public conversations about menstrual and menopausal health, but I’m getting very tired of being told that menstrual leave is the solution.
As someone with a background in policy evaluation and the founder of the world’s first evidence-based menstrual health website[3], I am well placed to comment on this topic. When I evaluated existing menstrual leave policies around the world, I found that they were not progressive or beneficial for female reproductive health or gender equality[4].
The thing is, it is really hard to argue against something that sounds good, even if the available evidence suggests otherwise. Humans seem to be bad at going beyond surface thoughts and we may even prefer stories that align with rather than challenge gender stereotypes[5].
So, here is a quick outline of what I think you should know about this policy.
What is the problem?
There are four main arguments[6] used by those promoting menstrual leave policy:
It will make the workplace fit for the menstruating female body.
It will improve menstrual health.
It will reduce menstrual shame and stigma, and associated discrimination.
It will improve gender equality in the workplace and beyond.
However, it has never been made clear exactly how the policy will deliver these outcomes. In fact, based on what we know about existing menstrual leave policies, it might not contribute to any of them.
Menstrual leave might even make things worse
Not only have existing menstrual leave policies failed to address the problems they set out to solve, they have also directly resulted in discrimination against female workers[19]. This is largely due to the gender myths reinforced by the policy. It makes all women seem like more expensive and less consistent and productive employees. It can also lead to a backlash from colleagues and employers against a sex-based benefit[20].
We already know that shared parental leave (for parents regardless of gender) is a more effective policy than maternity leave[21] (which is female sex-based). It improves the gender pay gap, women’s hiring, promotion and leadership opportunities, child health outcomes, fatherhood experiences and gender equality in wider society.
These improvements occur because the policy avoids the gender-based backlash associated with maternity leave. This backlash is driven by the conscious or unconscious resentment of, and associated discrimination against, working women due to a perceived unfair advantage (paid time off work) and/or biological liability (the female reproductive body). The same issues[22] apply to menstrual and menopausal health workplace policies.
We need to improve workplace (and school, and medical) knowledge of reproductive health and wellbeing. We should all know what’s normal[23] or the sign of an underlying health condition. Likewise, it’s shocking that some people do not know why we menstruate[24] or how to reduce cyclical changes.
We also need to make workplaces (including schools) fit for those who have periods[25] and to promote more flexible and equitable work cultures and practices[26] that benefit all employees. For instance, challenging “presenteeism” if employees feel obliged to work even when feeling unwell, and ditching “timed” toilet breaks[27].
While these actions[28] are not quite as simple or catchy as “menstrual leave”, they would at least make a positive difference in the lives of millions of workers – without unintentionally worsening gender inequalities.
References
- ^ adopted a menstrual leave policy (www.euronews.com)
- ^ only and all cisgender women (doi.org)
- ^ menstrual health website (www.menstrual-matters.com)
- ^ female reproductive health or gender equality (doi.org)
- ^ rather than challenge gender stereotypes (www.tandfonline.com)
- ^ four main arguments (doi.org)
- ^ This article is part of Quarter Life (theconversation.com)
- ^ Five important things you should have learned in sex ed – but probably didn’t (theconversation.com)
- ^ Postpartum exercise can have many benefits – here’s how to do it safely (theconversation.com)
- ^ Joy can help us be better at work – here’s how to find it (theconversation.com)
- ^ do not regularly experience severe symptoms (abdn.alma.exlibrisgroup.com)
- ^ an underlying health issue (www.rcog.org.uk)
- ^ EU and UK labour policies (www.legislation.gov.uk)
- ^ more likely to be dismissed by doctors (doi.org)
- ^ years to get a formal diagnosis (www.medicalnewstoday.com)
- ^ biologically inferior (mentally and physically) (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- ^ used to undermine (www.beacon.org)
- ^ Fizkes/Shutterstock (www.shutterstock.com)
- ^ discrimination against female workers (www.menstrual-matters.com)
- ^ against a sex-based benefit (books.google.co.uk)
- ^ more effective policy than maternity leave (doi.org)
- ^ same issues (www.menstrual-matters.com)
- ^ what’s normal (www.menstrual-matters.com)
- ^ why we menstruate (www.menstrual-matters.com)
- ^ workplaces (including schools) fit for those who have periods (www.bloodygoodemployers.com)
- ^ flexible and equitable work cultures and practices (www.menstrual-matters.com)
- ^ “timed” toilet breaks (www.ndtv.com)
- ^ actions (www.menstrual-matters.com)
Read more https://theconversation.com/why-menstrual-leave-could-be-bad-for-women-199568
