Menstrual leave is a reality in Japan, Indonesia and Taiwan. South Korea also offers paid menstrual leave, but counters it by offering additional pay to South Korean women who do not use this paid leave.
Canada has been mulling the idea of paid menstrual leave, and now it's a topic of discussion in the United Kingdom.
Will U.S. employers incorporate paid menstrual leave policies into their HR manuals, too? Would women of the U.S. workforce find such a perk highly desirable, or uniquely degrading? Would women of the U.S. job candidate pool want to hear an interviewer utter: "We offer free dry cleaning service, subsidized doggy day care, and up to 72 hours off when Aunt Flo is visiting"? Would women of the U.S. workforce want their male co-workers to blurt out: "Oh, you're leaving early for the day? I was wondering if it was that time of the month for you"? Would employers start to wonder if it's worth hiring women? Is this equal workplace treatment, and what new, workplace perk would male employees get in return?
Eeesh.
Of course, there are women for whom menstruation is an incredibly serious, debilitating health issue not to be taken lightly. For many reasons, however, I simply don't see such a policy ever being implemented here.*** It's something we'll have in common with the Russians, because the Russian parliament threw out a menstrual leave proposal last year that would have given women of the Russian workforce two paid days off per month. At least we'll always have Midol, and PTO banks.
*** I've been wrong before, though.
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon