#Trending : Zomato To Now Give Its Female Employees 10 Extra Period Leaves A Year. Finally, A Step Towards De-Stigmatising Menstruation!
I remember being about 13 or 14 when I first got my period. Having been told about it in school itself, through a series of awkward, hushed and very secretive presentations given to just us girls under the strict orders of not sharing the context of it with any boy once we left the room, I thought this was a secret that should never be revealed. When the day (and my first period) finally arrived, I was as stressed as ever. Not only was I to keep its existence a secret (tell that to my stained white skirt), but also had to endure the pain of those cramps without attracting much attention to myself. And even though at that age we didn’t know any better, what sucks is that the childhood awkwardness still lingers, for most men and women are just as uncomfortable with the mention of it, as they were when they were in 7th standard.
The fact that most women have code names for when they get their period, or can’t stop feeling several eyes on them on days they pick up a pack of tampons or pads from the supermarket with flushed cheeks, or at times even have to pass their cramps off as gas, is all but a telling sign of how we’ve made a taboo out of a perfectly normal biological process. And in a bid to change that has been one our favourite food companies – Zomato, that apart from delivering food, is now delivering a sound message by it’s recent move where it is allowing female menstruating employees (including transgender people) to take 10 extra leaves in the year.
With the option to avail one of these leaves every menstrual cycle through the year, the company mentioned in a blog post that, “Why 10? Most women have 14 menstrual cycles in a year. Adjusting for the probability of you having your periods on a weekend, you can now rightfully avail 10 extra leaves compared to men.”
Zomato introduces 'period leave' for employees.
Source: https://t.co/bES4Qtq2l6#startups #startupIndia @Zomato #menstruation #taboo #periods #periodleave #women #girls #awareness #Womensrights pic.twitter.com/n4XZNKkLPd
— Startup India Beat (@startupindbeat) August 10, 2020
Also Read : #Voices: This Sanitary Napkin Brand Showed Red Blood Instead Of Blue In Their TV Ad. Are We Finally Getting Real About Periods?
They further talked about the need to abolish any stigma attached to menstruation and shared how they recognise that men and women are born with different biological realities. It was about time. The CEO, Deepinder Goyal also spoke on the matter and said, “I know that menstrual cramps are very painful for a lot of women – and we have to support them through it if we want to build a truly collaborative culture at Zomato.”
Well done @Zomato! Hoping #periodleave becomes the norm for companies and firms moving forward. It's important to recognize menstruation as a HEALTH issue and foster an inclusive environment! 🩸#menstrualequity #periods #Tech #CultureTransformation https://t.co/YQsP9e51Lb
— Rachel Ettinger (@RachEttinger) August 9, 2020
In fact, in an email circulated to all the Zomato employees for the announcement, Deepinder Goyal also wrote, “A note for men — our female colleagues expressing that they are on their period leave shouldn’t be uncomfortable for us. This is a part of life, and while we don’t fully understand what women go through, we need to trust them when they say they need to rest this out.”
And if this doesn’t make them one of the most ideal companies to work in, we don’t know what will. Finally we have one foodtech company realising the need to normalise period pain, and hopefully it won’t be long till others follow suit in de-stigmatising this concept.
