Period leave: Does not hamper business or reduce employability, say firms

Indian food aggregator Zomato’s recent announcement to allow period leave soon found netizens divided on its equitability. Companies, which have experimented with such a policy in the past, say the policy does not hamper business or reduce women employability.

On August 7, Zomato said all women (including transgender people) at Zomato can avail up to 10 days of period leaves in a year. They were not the first one to announce such a policy. Steel producer Tata Steel and digital start-up Gozoop are two such companies which have a period leave policy in place.

Started as a trial in 2017, period policy continues at Gozoop well into 2020. “In 2017, we introduced it as any other policy and when we did it there was no precedent. We put the policy on what we call a probation,” said Rohan Bhansali, co-founder of Gozoop. His experience showed the policy did not hamper work, and helped build a sense of pride for not just the women, but also for male employees.

One may argue, period leaves are easier for a small digital set-up. However, companies, like Tata Steel, have also offered period leave within the sick leave quota since 2018. The steel producer introduced the policy in August 2018, and offers one menstrual leave per month, availed just through an intimation to the respective superior, without any other approval. The company offers the leave to all its menstruating employees, including factory workforce. “We have not experienced any instance of misuse or absenteeism. There is scope of misuse in all policies and leave provisions,” said the Tata Steel spokesperson.

The twitter debate around period leave threw up concerns over misuse of leaves, reverse gender discrimination and reduced employability of women especially because women are allowed maternity leaves and in government jobs even one year of child care leave for two children. In case of some public sector utilities, the leave duration is further extended as part of employee welfare measures.

On August 11, senior journalist Barkha Dutt tweeted, “Sorry Zomato, as woke as your decision on #PeriodLeave is, this is exactly what ghettoizes women and strengthens biological determinism. We cannot want to join the infantry, report war, fly fighter jets, go into space, want no exceptionalism and want period leave. PLEASE”. Dutt's tweet put her in direct conflict with many women activists and those who undergo severe pain and loss of energy during menstruation.  

On Women’s Day this March, Dutt countered Congress leader Shashi Tharoor who had sought social media support on change.org for a petition by All India Professionals’ Congress, his party’s platform “to contribute to the advancement of progressive politics in India”. The petition favoured grant of such leave.

Ameesha Prabhu, chief executive officer for TRRAIN - Trust for Retailers and Retail Associates of India, disagrees. “I do not think a biological factor should be reason for anyone to discriminate while hiring women, we work with a lot of retailers and I have not heard anyone say we do not want to hire them for ‘women problem.’ ” she said. TRRAIN helps upskill and train employees for the retail industry. Prabhu added that in the retail industry there is an unspoken understanding that you can take a leave. “Discomfort is the main factor why women would want to stay home on those days. It is a beautiful understanding that one shares with the store manager or reporting manager,” she added.

Retail is, however, one area where women employees are preferred especially in garment showrooms which have gender-based sections. Dutt’s argument, in war like conditions, however may merit a more nuanced discussion. Bhansali remains sceptical if it is the right policy for all organisations. “I would not recommend this for everybody. One has to see if it works for your organisation; you need to have a culture to hold it.”

The social media debate has little value for him and instead suggests, "Those who are willing to try it, put it on probation like we did, and see if it works.”

His experience was there is no correlation between women employability and period leave. “Our share of women in total employee strength has only increased since 2017, the policy has not deterred the organisation from hiring more women in any way,” he said.

There is very little data available on menstruation and related health issues in India. The two recent instances where women’s menstrual health problems were raised among lawmakers was about menopause and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). In a December 2019 query, the women and child development ministry was asked in Parliament whether there was a menopause policy under consideration for women employees in government and private sectors. In July 2019, the health ministry was asked whether the Government is aware that cases of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder in women, is increasing in the country.

Stressful employment conditions with continuous and erratic work hours, including lifestyle issues and genetic pre-disposition are considered medical reasons for PCOS, a condition leading to excessive bleeding, for as many as 15 days continuously, in some cases.

The two companies quoted in the story have different experiences on how many women actually availed the leave. Tata Steel said almost 50 per cent women employees have used it at least once. Bhansali added, not all of their women employees were available.

Prabhu says policy or not, it is more about the equation between employee and line manager. “Two days leave a month is a given thing for men or women for various reasons. There could be women who don’t need it, but there are some women who suffer. It is important for the organisation to be supportive of their employees,” she said.  

Bhansali added, the question is how does one move from a transaction to trust. "Policy is only important to give a direction to people,” he said.

Companies like Tata Steel say there is a definite economic sense. “Yes, when employees’ welfare is ensured, it enables a happy and productive workforce and certainly makes good economic sense as well,” the spokesperson said.

For a country, like India, discussion around menstruation policies need to also transcend making sanitary hygiene accessible. In the National Family Health Survey-IV, (NFHS-4), women in the age group of 15-24 years, were asked what method they use for menstrual protection, if anything. The results show, in India, 42 percent use sanitary napkins, 62 percent use cloth, and 16 percent use locally prepared napkins. Overall, 58 percent of women use a hygienic method of menstrual protection.

Tata Steel said the company’s 2019 decision to introduce sanitary pad vending machines and hygienic pad disposal units at the workplace, was “Widely appreciated by many women employees, as earlier they had to either bring their own pads or rush to homes or medical stores in case of such emergencies.”