While Spain has become the first country in Europe to introduce menstrual leave, French senator Hélène Conway-Mouret plans to soon table a text to implement a similar measure in France.
Excruciating pain, exhausting discomfort, debilitating cramps, malaise, unpleasant remarks… Here is a short list of what menstruating people can feel during their period at work. Indeed, according to a Ifop survey carried out in October 2022, 53% of female employees have painful periods, and two thirds of working women have already faced difficulties related to their periods at work. At the very moment when the European week of prevention and information on endometriosis is taking place, from March 6 to 12, 2023, one in ten menstruating people in France is diagnosed with this disease, which can cause chronic suffering.
So could menstrual leave be a solution to relieve women? The senator of the French abroad, Hélène Conway-Mouret, believes in it. Directly inspired by the spanish measure adopted on February 16, 2023, it intends to submit, in the coming weeks, a bill to give menstruating people the possibility of taking one to two days maximum of leave per month, in the event of rules painful. In this sense, the socialist mayor of the city of Saint-Ouen, Karim Bouamrane, announced, Wednesday, March 8, the upcoming experimentation of menstrual leave and working time arrangements for Audonian agents who are victims of difficult menstruation.
Beyond the leave, the measure aims to allow ” break the taboo of periods and normalize them “says Hélène Conway-Mouret to RFI. The goal: ” ensure that women who are inconvenienced for a few days can have the option of staying at home and treating the pain, simply by reporting their absence to the employer “, abounds the senator.
The fear of exacerbated discrimination in the workplace
In Hélène Conway-Mouret’s bill, currently still in the development phase, the two days off will be paid for by the State and social security, like the new sick leave granted to Spanish women. ” The way of thinking about this leave is flexible. There is no obligation, it is not prescriptive, but it would become a possibility engraved in the Labor Code. Because as long as it is not in the law, large companies will not necessarily have this gesture for women. Once registered, they will be able to request it via their unions or their hierarchical representation. “, supports the senator. And among the people concerned, this measure seems to be attractive. Two thirds of the women questioned in the Ifop study of October 2022 say they are in favor of menstrual leave in the workplace.
A dozen French companies have already taken the plunge. This is the case of the cooperative society La Collective, a pioneer in this field, which introduced menstrual leave for its employees in 2021, followed in 2022 by the furniture company Louis Design or Critizr, specialist in interaction management. clients. However, the same Ifop survey shows that 82% of employees fear that this leave will become a brake on hiring. A fear shared by many associations. ” If menstruating people take menstrual leave because they are overdue, it can become an object of discrimination or a slowdown in their professional career “says Yasmine Candau, president of the EndoFrance association.
On the whole, NGOs welcome the intention of this practice. But for Gaëlle Baldassari, creator of the movement “Kiff your cycle”, this leave can easily generate inequalities at work. ” With menstrual leave, employers are told: “from the moment you employ someone who has a uterus you take the risk that she activates special leave”. But why consider having painful periods differently from suffering from any other pathology? “, she asserts, before adding: “ In companies, will we continue to promote women who will use menstrual leave? »
A leave potentially little used in practice
A stigma against which Hélène Conway-Mouret wishes to fight with this law. ” We do not single out menstruation. On the contrary, it’s a way to talk about it more freely within the company, to make the subject normal and acceptable. “, she justifies. Aline Bœuf, assistant-doctoral student in the sociology department of the University of Geneva, admits for her part that it is a opportunity to offer time to people who have intolerable pain to take the time to heal themselves “.
But according to the sociologist, this answer is not in agreement with the reality of the lived experience of women at work. ” Even if we create this menstrual leave, will people under pressure or in precarious contracts really ask for it, when they have no assurance of being hired back? », Asks the author of memory Living your menstrual cycle in the professional world.
Especially since abroad, the countries that have already adopted this menstrual leave very rarely apply it in practice. In Japan, this right has existed since 1947, with no limit on days but without state reimbursement. Except that in 2017, only 0.9% of women used it, according to CNN. Same observation in Indonesia, where menstrual leave is subject to the goodwill of employers. Result: in practice, many choose to ignore the law that dates back to 2003.
Added to this is the risk of exposing yourself to more derogatory remarks from superiors or colleagues, and of displaying part of your intimacy. Also, Gaëlle Baldassari points the finger at the effect of menstrual leave on transgender people, who would be forced to come out forced to justify their absence, whereas with ” a simple sick leave, the question does not arise and medical secrecy remains respected “, she hammers.
” Alone, a menstrual leave is not enough »
According to Gaëlle Baldassari, menstrual leave could even be counterproductive. “ Alone, it does not create the conditions for solving the problem. He simply means that it is normal for a part of the population to suffer enough not to be able to go to work. “, is indignant the creator of Kiffe ton cycle. While as Yasmine Candau supports, pain that forces you to stay at home is nothing trivial. ” If a menstruating person who suffers during her period knows that she has two days every month anyway to take care of herself, without looking further into the cause of her pain, it may extend the time of her diagnosis. While endometriosis already undergoes seven years of medical wandering on average… »
This is why for the president of EndoFrance, it is imperative to accompany this menstrual leave with a trained and qualified occupational medicine on the matter, who can direct the person to appropriate information and an adequate diagnosis. As well as simple measures to take in the company, such as providing a rest room with a microwave and hot water bottles. ” When you suffer from your periods, the pain can come in crisis, punctually. You can’t necessarily predict it in the morning. If there is a place dedicated to this moment of suffering in the company, it can already be a step forward “, continues Yasmine Candau.
Need a “ Grenelle rules »
According to Aline Bœuf, there are other complementary projects to integrate with menstrual leave, such as adapting infrastructures to the needs of menstruating people. For example, by ensuring that a sink is accessible to clean your menstrual cup or panties in the company toilets. Or by offering the free distribution of hygienic products to make up for the unexpected.
Thus, the sociologist applauds “ the enormous advanced » to reimburse reusable protection in pharmacies for people under 25, such as announced on March 6, 2023 by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. But reimbursement does not mean free. ” The measure does not solve the question of the spontaneous need for sanitary protection or the fact that not everyone has the finances to pay for reusable products, which are often very expensive. In addition, these reusable protections are not suitable for the homeless, people who do not have access to running water, soap, etc. “, reports Aline Boeuf.
Yasmine Candau, Gaëlle Baldassari and Aline Bœuf all agree that the menstrual leave solution should be a chapter of a ” broader societal project around menstrual health “. Gaëlle Baldassari thus militates for states general, a kind of ” Grenelle rules “, which would bring together around the same table companies, the State, the Ministry of Health, Labor, Education, and health professionals in the broad sense. Among the fundamental levers: more awareness, information, education and resources allocated to medical research on this subject. ” Above all, we must rethink the training of occupational physicians, teachers, the number of hours allocated to sexual health, and the prevention of menstrual pain. adds Aline Boeuf.
In response, while Senator Hélène Conway-Mouret acknowledges that menstrual leave does not ” will not solve all long-term problems », it remains, for her, necessary to trigger a cultural change. “ Women should not be ashamed of suffering. Such a measure is a small step for their well-being at work, but a big step in the more global debate that we must have around this change in morals. “, she believes.
Faced with all these reservations, Hélène Conway-Mouret claims to have spoken with health professionals and specialized associations to “ take their recommendations into account and readjust the final text “. Despite her reluctance, Yasmine Candau welcomes an initiative which remains, according to her, incomplete and imperfect, but which nevertheless demonstrates a real desire to act in the fight against menstrual pain.
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