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Call for an end to period stigma at work
New survey shows many women lack sanitary bins or products at work.
Over half of women who suffer period-related illnesses have lied about their reasons for taking time off, according to a survey.
The survey of 2,000 women by CIPD training specialist DPG shows nearly half [48%] feel there is a stigma about periods at their workplace. Over one in 10 had had negative comments about women and periods at work, such as “It’s because she’s on the rag”.
Over a quarter said there were no sanitary bins at their workplace and almost two thirds have no way of accessing sanitary products if they run out at work. Ten per cent said their employer provides free sanitary products for them.
Sixty per cent of women said they would feel uncomfortable discussing the topic of menstruation at all with colleagues or managers. Almost one-third felt that colleagues did not take period pain seriously.
Nadya Okamoto, Founder and Executive Director of charity PERIOD, said: “Companies and managers should treat periods as normal and natural. They should not be treated as a taboo topic in the workplace, they are part of being human! They should also provide menstrual hygiene products for all of their employees and should not tolerate comments like “they did X because of their period”…A really tangible way to show your support for people with periods in the office is to stock every restroom with tampons and pads.”
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Comments [1]
Tannis says:
I am the only female in my office (with 6 blokes) they have learnt over the last 18months that when I’m a grumpy cow to throw food in my direction and make me a brew, also that I have no trouble talking about sex, periods, lumps bumps etc so if they dont want to know to bring earmuffs!! (I still don’t understand why married men get queasy about these things, or have their wives hid the truth for many years? Who knows)