No More Pill Popping or Riding Uncomfortably, What's Your Thought on Paid Period Leave?

Swiggy Paid Period Leave: Women are gradually taking over as delivery partners riding on their two-wheelers. It began in 2016 with food delivery agents and organisations like Flipkart setting the trend. But it is only recently that the organisations are raising talks on period leave for their female delivery executives who have to be on the road most of their working hours. And it is a positive move indeed.

Periods, mensuration, chums, etc. have always been taboo topics to speak in public, in front of men, but it feels good to see big and popular outlets use the word 'PERIODS' in their employee vocabulary.

On October 20, Swiggy announced a two-days paid monthly period leave policy for its female delivery partners. The food delivery service has around 2 lakh delivery partners in India, out of which 1,000 are women.

In a blog post by Swiggy, the company mentioned that the first female delivery partner to join was in 2016 in Pune. Since then, they have grown in terms of women joining the company. In light of that and to encourage more women, the organisation introduced this policy. They considered the discomfort of women while delivering orders on periods and according to the organisation is one of the top reasons why women feel reluctant to join this service.

Other than a period leaves, talks on providing clean and safe public washrooms to women are also on the table. The organisation has already partnered with restaurants in Cochin and other large cities.

A similar move was made by Zomato, a year back, wherein, CEO Deepinder Goyal said that at Zomato they want to foster a culture of trust and acceptance. Saying this, they announced a total of ten days of period leaves for all women employees (including transgender people). An effort that was applauded by many people.

Even among women, there is no consensus about the need for the period leaves. Journalist Barkha Dutt's comment, "Sorry Zomato, as woke as your decision in #PeriodLeave is, this is exactly what ghettoizes women and strengthens biological determinism. We cannot want to join the infantry, report war, fly a fighter jet, go into space, want no exceptionalism and want period leave. PLEASE," had the netizens divided.

Period pain is different for every woman. There are women for whom it is like any other day and then there are those who often end up in the ER. While some women believe that women should be treated equally and do not want to talk about the biological aspect of a woman's body as a deterrent in equal opportunities. This is okay, as women we can co-exist.

But at the same time, it is incorrect to point fingers at women for whom certain biological aspects cause extenuating circumstances. Endometriosis, Uterine polyps or fibroids are some extreme conditions women have to face. A majority have painful periods. Sitting becomes difficult and the idea of urinating in public toilets is horrifying.

If you are a professional woman who had to work during painful periods, then do not wish the same for the younger women coming into the profession. Realise the problem, understand and try to change for your fellow sisters in any way possible.

"More strong women should talk about what their periods felt like. The problem if we were told to be quiet about it and so the pain is also now a secret pain. Our experience should benefit young girls going through this now." another popular journalist Faye D'Souza had tweeted.

To break taboos around menstruation we need to first normalise and mainstream the conversation. Period leave is one such endeavour it is not gendering of the workplace.

(Opinions expressed are author's own)

Suggested Reading:

Period Leaves Are A Step Towards Breaking The Taboo Around Menstruation

Paid Period Leave a Progressive Move towards Empathetic Workplaces

Teen Girls Share Relatable Stories Of Periods Gone Wrong

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