A majority of French employees are in favor of introducing menstrual leave within the company.
According to an Ifop survey* unveiled by
Le Parisien
, two thirds (66%) of the women questioned would like to use it if they had the possibility.
64% of women who have painful periods would not hesitate to take such leave.
Established in few countries
The wish to benefit from menstrual leave concerns more young women suffering from “very painful” periods.
Thus, 63% of 18-24 year olds are in favor of it compared to 47% of 35-49 year olds.
Some women are reluctant to agree to take such leave for fear of the negative impact on their work and relationships with colleagues.
Menstrual leave is implemented in few countries: Japan, Zambia, Taiwan or Indonesia.
It allows women subject to painful menstruation to take one or two days off per month depending on the company concerned.
On May 17, the Spanish government approved a draft law on the creation of menstrual leave.
A measure implemented in a few companies
In France, companies are free to introduce menstrual leave.
It took until April 2021 for the La collective cooperative based in Montpellier to set it up;
reports
Midi Libre
.
An initiative that has prompted other companies to take the plunge, most of which are SMEs or cooperatives.
The device has been tested since March 8 at Louis, a furniture manufacturer in Labège, near Toulouse.
Possible one day a month, menstrual leave is based on trust.
The employee just has to call her manager, without submitting any medical evidence.
At Critizr, in Paris, where the system has been in place since May 1, a simple email is enough.
So far, only one employee has used it.
*The survey was conducted on 993 employed or active women who had already worked as employees, representative of the population of French employees aged 15 and over.
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