Feminists want to set back the cause of equal pay for women by decade or three? If so, take up Teen Vogue writer Sara Youngblood Gregory’s demand for paid menstrual leave. We’re not talking fringe benefit. It’s much more serious than that.
“When we shift the conversation from an added benefit to a fundamental worker’s right, paid menstrual leave affirms that workers should not have to choose between getting paid, risking their health, or suffering through illness, discomfort, or pain,” Gregory writes. “Paid menstrual leave is one tangible method to ensure the workplace is more accessible and equitable for all workers.” So, having more workers take time off makes the workplace more accessible. Huh?
But offering women to use their sick days if they have bad menstrual pain is not a viable option for this writer. Instead, Gregory brings in worker Lavinina D’Souza who has her career damaged because of her menstrual pain. “Why should a woman have to justify herself?” D’Souza said in regards to her consistent need for monthly time off. “Paid menstrual leave would greatly impact my quality of life. I wouldn’t have to feel embarrassed to state [to employers] that I need holiday because I am facing [the] pain of my monthly cycle.” Okay then, negotiate it with your employer. See how that goes.
Gregory then cites Carinne Chambers-Saini, CEO of the menstrual care company, who claims paid menstrual leave is a net positive for productivity. “We have seen absolutely no negative impact on productivity,” Chambers-Saini says. “If anything, we’ve seen an increase in productivity and satisfaction [in the last eight months], which we measure with surveys.” How having more employees take time off increases productivity makes zero sense, but the illogic is nothing new to Teen Vogue.
Hard-working women should be insulted by this idea – doubly so when the very same people tell them men can menstruate.
