fearing an “increase in discrimination”, Dare feminism proposes the elimination of the waiting period “for all”

“By creating a stoppage specific to menstrual leave, employers will increase the discrimination women already face today“, fears Friday May 26 on franceinfo the spokesperson for Dare feminism. Violaine de Filippis-Abate reacts to the ecological and socialist bills aimed at establishing a menstrual leave of 13 days a year and without waiting period. She calls To “to question the philosophy of the waiting period for all, men and women“.”If an employee was entitled to compensation from day one, there would be no need to create such a system.“

>>> Menstrual leave: what does the bill brought by three environmental deputies contain?

franceinfo: What are your reservations about this device?

Violaine de Filippis-Abate, spokeswoman for Dare to feminism: First of all, it’s still a good thing that we talk about the pain of women in the public debate. These legislative proposals are an opportunity for this and, in this, they are welcome. On the other hand, it is a bit vague because it is already possible today to benefit from a work stoppage in the event of painful periods. Access to this right is not very clear. Women do not even know that they can already be stopped in case of painful periods.

Could the current law be sufficient?

It is not enough as it stands, but what is proposed does not seem adequate to us either. By creating a stoppage specific to menstrual leave, employers will increase the discrimination that women already face today. The alternative that we propose would be to question the philosophy of the waiting period for all, men as well as women. If an employee was entitled to compensation from day one, that would solve the problem. There would be no need to create a device that will potentially aggravate our discrimination.

What about the menstrual leave that exists in Spain?

It’s been a few months, so I would say that we don’t have the necessary hindsight. Regarding countries that have already established it, such as Japan, compensation is not automatic. We can therefore also think that these financial problems prevent women from taking it, like the taboo around menstruation. You do not necessarily want to tell your employer that you have painful periods and the fact of establishing menstrual leave will not necessarily destigmatize the period with a magic wand.