Real Talk
How a Paid Menstrual Leave Helps Moms Be Productive
The Gabriela Party List filed a house bill for a two-day paid menstrual leave. This is in the hopes that it can provide women, most especially moms, flexibility and support.
Many women experience getting their period and suffering from intense menstrual cramps or dysmenorrhea. This forces them to take an emergency leave from work. But that might change for Filipino women. A lawmaker recently filed a house bill granting women a two-day paid menstrual leave.
According to Gabriela Party List, congresswoman Arlene Brosas, the proposed House Bill 7758 will provide women, including moms, the flexibility and support to manage their reproductive health. The menstrual leave will allow women not to report for two days if she is going through premenstrual or menstrual syndrome while still earning 100% compensation.
“In the past few years, menstrual leave has become a progressive legislation introducing new reproductive rights in many countries,” Brosas explained in the Explanatory Note of the House Bill.
“Dysmenorrhea is often poorly treated and ignored by health professionals, pain researchers, and even women themselves, who may accept it as a normal part of menstruation,” she added, citing a survey that despite the menstrual pain, some women still prefer to go to work than risk a deduction in their compensation.
How House Bill 7758 can help women
The proposed bill clarifies that women except pregnant and menopausal women can avail of the two-day leave. It also explains that employers already granting “menstrual leave or its equivalent are not covered by the act.”
Moreover, it assures that those who will avail of the benefit will not risk any termination or loss of jobs. Additionally, they should not be subjected to discrimination.
Brosa, in her note, shared that in La Union, Governor Raphaelle Ortega-David has already signed an Executive Order. It allows women a two-day menstrual leave and to work from home.
“The Executive Order acknowledges the painful and uncomfortable symptoms of menstruation and recognizes its impact on women’s productivity,” she said.
Menstrual Leave in other countries
The proposed house bill is not the first time a lawmaker has filed a bill on menstrual leave. In 2004, the late senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago has also filed her own version of the bill. She explained that other countries in Asia have been giving importance to women’s health.
Early this year, Spain became the first European country to pass a law allowing its women to take paid menstrual leaves. The country allows 3 days of leave that can extend up to 5 days.
Aside from Spain, countries that have paid menstrual leave include Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea, and Zambia.
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