A Household Name, Zomato Gives Paid Period Leave To Female & Trans Employees In An Inclusive Step

Zomato gives paid period leave in an inclusive move for both women and trans employees. Being a household name, the awareness hopefully reaches deeper.

After years of writing about the taboo and stigma around menstruation in India, about period poverty and ‘untouchability’ during periods, it gives me immense pleasure to write something #periodpositive.

I woke up from my afternoon nap to the splendid news that Zomato gives paid period leave, in an inclusive move for both women and trans employees. Being a household name, the awareness hopefully reaches deeper. to female and transgender employees. To summarise, Zomato India is giving 10 days of paid menstrual leaves a year to women and transgenders.

In his statement, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal said, “A note for men – our female colleagues expressing that they are on their period leave shouldn’t be uncomfortable for us. This is a part of life, and while we don’t fully understand what women go through, we need to trust them when they say they need to rest this out. I know that menstrual cramps are very painful for a lot of women – and we have to support them through it if we want to build a truly collaborative culture at Zomato.”

It is impactful that a household name like Zomato openly talked about periods and did its part for its menstruating employees. They also encouraged women to converse about their periods and tell people that they are on their period leave, without any humiliation. This is an exemplary step towards making India #periodpositive and ending menstrual myths.

Earlier positive change was the RIO pads ad showing red period blood

Another awaited change I got to see about a week back is Rio Pads introducing us to the amazing and pathbreaking fact that period blood is red. Woohoo. For years, we wanted to believe women bleed blue. We don’t, unless it is a cricket match.

As expected, the ad faced a backlash but braved it all to make it onto our TV screens. It takes huge amounts of guts, courage and self-confidence to do that.

Never miss real stories from India's women.

Register Now

I hope these companies set an example for others to do their part like showing period blood in its real colour, encouraging conversations about periods, providing sanitary napkin vending machines in all office campuses, and acknowledging that period cramps are real.

Image source: YouTube

Comments