Working women are already set back by the motherhood penalty and workplace housekeeping — pregnancy and child rearing that stall their progress, and the assignment of menial administrative tasks that men at the same professional level would not volunteer for or be assigned.
The Supreme Court’s comment on Monday that a mandatory menstrual-leave policy might be counter-productive for women in the workforce is an intervention in what has proved to be a contentious issue not just in India but across the world. The three-judge bench, hearing a plea to implement menstrual leave for women under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, urged the Centre to frame a model policy in consultation with states and stakeholders, ensuring that fear of its misuse as a basis for discrimination does not deter the entry of women into the workforce.
Working women are already set back by the motherhood penalty and workplace housekeeping — pregnancy and child rearing that stall their progress, and the assignment of menial administrative tasks that men at the same professional level would not volunteer for or be assigned. Menstrual leave runs the risk of becoming one more obstacle course that women have to navigate for employment and career advancement. In December last year, the former Union Women and Child Development Minister, Smriti Irani, had told the Rajya Sabha that she was opposed to the idea of a paid menstrual leave personally because she did not want women to face discrimination over “a natural part of a woman’s life journey”. There is some truth in her words. The pathologisation of a biological process can further the stigma instead of alleviating it. Yet, for those suffering from conditions such as endometriosis and dysmenorrhea, the discomfort that accompanies their menstrual cycles has a real impact on their performance at work. All these necessitate a careful calibration of how policy is framed, with guidelines and safeguards built in against misuse at either end.
While countries such as Taiwan and Zambia have instituted menstrual-leave policy, implementation has remained a hurdle. In June 2023, when Spain became the first European nation to introduce paid menstrual leave, it was seen as a move towards greater gender parity. In the year since, data has shown that very few women have availed of it, either because the process is onerous or due to a fear of discrimination. In Indonesia, the two-day menstrual leave has few takers as policy mandates a medical examination to avail it. The apex court’s comment, therefore, comes as a welcome opportunity for greater deliberation on a policy that can strike an equilibrium between an acknowledgement of women’s biological needs and an accommodation of workplace demands. The draft menstrual hygiene policy released by the government last year outlined the provision of flexible hours and support leaves: “… such arrangements should be available to all, to prevent perpetuating stigmas or assumptions about productivity based on menstrual cycles,” It could be a starting point.
