As someone who prides herself on being interested in women’s health and progress related to it, Sofia Sancho still had no idea what “menstrual leave” was when it suddenly was all over the news earlier this spring. Menstruation is a regular physiological phenomenon, happening to the vast majority of people with uteruses. Many people manage their periods just fine, but for some they can be extremely debilitating. For them, being able to take some extra days off work every month to manage symptoms can be a big relief. However, the policies have received a lot of critique. They can be difficult for companies to adopt in a viable way, and researchers worry that the sociocultural norms and stigmas that exist surrounding menstruation will lead to the policies doing more harm than good.
In the episode, Sofia invites you to join her on a deep dive into the world of menstrual health policies, as she explores the debate surrounding them. Why are they important? Why are they so controversial and debated? And how is any of this related to STS?
Sofia dearly thanks her guests Ms Lorren Rea and Dr Shema Tariq for helping her on this quest.
This episode was a project in the STSNewsRoom 2022.
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This literature is cited in the episode.
Ahn, J., Lee, S.H., Park, M.Y., Oh, S.H. and Lee, W. (2021). The Association Between Long Working Hours and Infertility. Safety and Health at Work. doi:10.1016/j.shaw.2021.07.005
Barnack-Tavlaris, J.L., Hansen, K., Levitt, R.B. and Reno, M. (2019). Taking leave to bleed: Perceptions and attitudes toward menstrual leave policy. Health Care for Women International, 40(12), pp.1355–1373. doi:10.1080/07399332.2019.1639709
Elsesser, K. (2022). Spain May Legislate Menstruation Leave—Do Women Still Need Their Periods? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2022/05/18/spain-may-legislate-menstruation-leave-do-women-still-need-their-periods/?sh=176190cf4f8d
Fitzsimmons, C. (2019). Menstrual leave the new ‘woke’ workplace right. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/menstrual-leave-the-new-woke-workplace-right-20190815-p52hlc.html
Francis, A. (2022). Could ‘menstrual leave’ change the workplace? www.bbc.com. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220426-could-menstrual-leave-change-the-workplace
Haupt, A. (2022). Menstrual leave: Why some companies are offering time off for periods Image without a caption By Angela Haupt. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/05/25/menstrual-leave-spain-paid-benefits/
https://www.nichd.nih.gov/. (2017). Menstruation and Menstrual Problems. https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/menstruation#
Ilič, M. (1999). Provision for ‘Menstrual Leave’. In: Women Workers in the Soviet Interwar Economy. Studies in Russian and East European History and Society. London: Palgrave Macmillan. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230375567_7?noAccess=true
Levitt, R.B. and Barnack-Tavlaris, J.L. (2020). Addressing Menstruation in the Workplace: The Menstrual Leave Debate. In: C. Bobel, I.T. Winkler, B. Fahs, K.A. Hasson, E.A. Kissling and T. Roberts, eds., The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-15-0614-7_43
Price, H.H. (2022). Periodic leave: an analysis of menstrual leave as legal workplace benefit. Oklahoma Law Review, 74(2). https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/oklrv74&div=13&id=&page=
Reuters (2022). In Europe’s first, Spain aims to introduce paid menstrual leave. Reuters. 17 May. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/europes-first-spain-aims-introduce-paid-menstrual-leave-2022-05-17/
www.cdc.gov. (2021). Work Schedule – Reproductive Health | NIOSH | CDC. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/repro/workschedule.html
Yonkers, K.A., O’Brien, P.S. and Eriksson, E. (2008). Premenstrual syndrome. The Lancet, 371(9619), pp.1200–1210. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(08)60527-9
Featuring
Reporter and original research
- Sofia Sancho
Interviewees
- Ms Lorren Rea, Head of Employment Policy at UCL
- Dr Shema Tariq. Clinical Research Fellow/ Honorary Consultant in Sexual Health and HIV
Host
- Professor Joe Cain, Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology
https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain
Also in the break
- Beatrice Han
Music credits
Intro and Exit music
- “Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod
https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Music within the episode
- “Cool Jazzy Brass & Vibraphone” by M33 Project
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/m33-project/single/cool-jazzy-bass-vibraphone/
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Podcast information
WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast
This site also includes information for how STS students and staff can get involved with our programme.
Editing and post-production by Professor Joe Cain, unless otherwise noted.
WeAreSTS producer is Professor Joe Cain.