Should Period Leaves be Allowed in Public/Private Sector? | Cheat Sheet Literature and Development

SHOULD PERIODS LEAVES BE ALLOWED IN PUBLIC/ PRIVATE SECTOR

Introduce yourself, your name

I stand before you all to argue against that period leaves should not be allowed in the public

or private sector in India. Now, I’d like to clarify that I understand how anti-feminist or

improper or illogical this stand might seem to some of us, coming from a woman herself but

let me assure you, I hold the best interests of women and every thing that fourth wave

feminism stands for. I’ll try to further elaborate why I don’t support allowing period or

menstrual leaves in workplaces whether public or private by giving you 5 reasons

highlighting why I think it is a regressive step .

The very first reason is the basic economic necessity of putting in equal work to get equal pay

and equal employment in a capitalist society!

How can we argue for having equal or even better employment prospects if we do not

provide the same amount of efficiency or productivity as men? It is prima facie the case in a

capitalistic economy that employment is directly proportional to the productive capacity of

the society. Men in India already capture 82% of India’s labour income, If we straight away

propose taking five to six days off in a month of thirty days, it would make no sense for

businesses to hire women altogether. In the private sector, where every individual is

employed majorly on the basis of profitability and output, it would be absurd to call for

equality in opportunity when the cynics put up these stats of gender-based gap in productivity

and output, in front of us to justify employing more males. Added to this, humans are already

competing with automation and the proliferating new technology in unskilled work, how will

women survive in this case then?

Okay so the next reason why I think having period leaves is not a good idea are because of

purely pragmatic reasons coming from a very realist perspective.

So, lets suppose for a minute that the employers (predominantly men) are even compelled to

accept this policy, this may bring a lot of comfort for the urban office going women but what

about the majority of India’s female population? what would happen to the female daily wage

earners? To the women who get paid only for the number of hours they work for in the huge

farms of patriarchal landlords? And mind you, 60% of working women in India are employed

by the agricultural industry. How will they survive? Are these daily wage-earning women

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SHOULD PERIODS LEAVES BE ALLOWED IN PUBLIC/ PRIVATE SECTOR

Introduce yourself, your name I stand before you all to argue against that period leaves should not be allowed in the public or private sector in India. Now, I’d like to clarify that I understand how anti-feminist or improper or illogical this stand might seem to some of us, coming from a woman herself but let me assure you, I hold the best interests of women and every thing that fourth wave feminism stands for. I’ll try to further elaborate why I don’t support allowing period or menstrual leaves in workplaces whether public or private by giving you 5 reasons highlighting why I think it is a regressive step. The very first reason is the basic economic necessity of putting in equal work to get equal pay and equal employment in a capitalist society! How can we argue for having equal or even better employment prospects if we do not provide the same amount of efficiency or productivity as men? It is prima facie the case in a capitalistic economy that employment is directly proportional to the productive capacity of the society. Men in India already capture 82% of India’s labour income, If we straight away propose taking five to six days off in a month of thirty days, it would make no sense for businesses to hire women altogether. In the private sector, where every individual is employed majorly on the basis of profitability and output, it would be absurd to call for equality in opportunity when the cynics put up these stats of gender-based gap in productivity and output, in front of us to justify employing more males. Added to this, humans are already competing with automation and the proliferating new technology in unskilled work, how will women survive in this case then? Okay so the next reason why I think having period leaves is not a good idea are because of purely pragmatic reasons coming from a very realist perspective. So, lets suppose for a minute that the employers (predominantly men) are even compelled to accept this policy, this may bring a lot of comfort for the urban office going women but what about the majority of India’s female population? what would happen to the female daily wage earners? To the women who get paid only for the number of hours they work for in the huge farms of patriarchal landlords? And mind you, 60% of working women in India are employed by the agricultural industry. How will they survive? Are these daily wage-earning women

going to be compensated for the leaves by the government? Would some form of a basic universal basic period leave allowance be given to these women? So this was the very bottom of our society. Well, lets see the top of it as well, lets talk about the implications of this policy on the female positions of leadership. about female CEOs and Managing directors. Would any company deem it profitable to have their very leadership be on leave for one fifth time of the month? (in fact, Zomato is giving one third time off). Accepting this policy would seriously impact women leadership prospects which are already abysmally low. Currently, only about 4% of CEOs and MDs of publicly listed companies in India are women and only about 9% of firms have women in top management positions. I assure you; this would drop to decimal figures if period leaves are allowed in the private sector. Next, we come on to the third reason, that is the negative gender bias and even a more greater gender divide that would be created in the society as a result of allowing period leaves. The whole point of the feminist movements in the past have been to uproot any discrimination based on gender and now that finally the world has come to the point that women are getting relatively much more equal treatment in workplace and households, it would be irrational on our part to hold this physical pain due to biological cycles of our body as a reason for getting a large chunk of time off from work, for which we have historically fought for to get to in the first place. Our male colleagues and co-workers and managers would naturally perceive this more as a privilege than need, more so if paid period leaves are allowed. It would naturally make them resentful of female colleagues which could have disastrous implications in terms of safety, promotion and stability in workplaces for females. In the eyes of men, a negative conception would naturally be tied to periods as being the source of the problem and discrimination enabling unjust privilege of getting six to ten days off a month. Periods would be perceived as a sickness than an indication of a fertile and healthy body. In any case, it has been historically observed that biological determinism harboured through gendering of the workplace can not in any circumstance, lead to a positive result from a social perspective. My fourth reason largely relies on the statistical reports by international institutions that reflect those women participations in workplace needs urgent attention and growth in India to achieve gender equality in its true sense. As we all know, gender-pay gap has also been one of the most troublesome areas for women to bring change in. Currently, the gender pay gap

I think it is vital for us to show them, that we stand on an equal footing, that we participate equally, be it farming agricultural produce for feeding the populations or building and operating softwares for multinational corporations or guarding our nation on the borders of our country, We. Are. Just as capable, as you are. That we are strong, determinate and willing individuals who can contribute to the society as much as any other genders. I think it is indispensable for us women to set an example that gender is NO bar. That I as a strong feminist, am capable of performing at the same level as any man can, despite the cyclic physical hardships I endure on a monthly basis. Thank you.

Should Period Leaves be Allowed in Public/Private Sector?, Cheat Sheet of Literature and Development

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SHOULD PERIODS LEAVES BE ALLOWED IN PUBLIC/ PRIVATE SECTOR