As part of the quest for gender equality, women might get paid for merely existing.
The Washington Post reports Italy may soon be the first Western country to offer paid menstrual leave for employees. If the proposed measure passes through parliament, women in Italy will be entitled to three paid days off each month if they experience “painful periods.”
Even though the entire idea of “menstrual leave” portrays women as weak and fragile beings that cannot function in the workplace during said episodes, the move is being lauded by the feminists in the Italian version of Marie Claire. According to Marie Claire, the move would make Italy the “standard-bearer of progress and social sustainability.”
Marie Claire attempts to justify the proposal by saying women need medical notes to confirm they have dysmenorrhea--painful periods--in order to receive the paid time off. However, Marie Claire simultaneously notes the condition allegedly affects 60-90 percent of Italy’s female population.
According to the Independent, Italy already has one of the lowest female labor force participation rates in Europe. The Independent claims the female participation rate is only 61 percent, compared to the European average of 72 percent.
While the Independent asserts employers are reluctant to hire women because of pregnancy itself, the gracious benefits package afforded to pregnant women--that is not offered to men--could be a reason why.
Currently, Italy offers mandatory five months maternity leave in which women receive 80 percent of their salary paid for by the INSP, Italy’s version of social security. After those five months, both parents are entitled to extra six months off work with an optional 30 percent of their salary.
By making it even less attractive to hire women by mandating paid days off, the “menstrual leave” policy will hurt the same women it claims to help. And, of course, when women are fired as a result of the policy, there will be plenty of people to cry “sexism.”
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