Food delivery company in India offers 'period leave' for female employees

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A major food delivery service in India is offering its female employees extra days off for a specific reason. According to the company, women no longer need to make excuses for missing work due to their cycle.

Zomato announced through a press release on its website that it will be offering women staffers 10 days of “period leave” throughout the year. According to the statement, these days are being offered to better represent the different needs of men and women in the workplace.

In the press release, the company’s founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal asked, “How many times have you had to send a message to your team saying ‘unwell today – taking the day off’ and having to answer concerned questions about your health with a feeble ‘stomach upset/weakness etc.’ when you really wanted to say ‘on my period, terrible cramps – need a heating pad, some chocolate and a lot of green tea (or something stronger) so I’m taking the day off?’”

The statement said that women will only be allowed to use one of these leaves per cycle. It also says that they shouldn’t feel “any shame or stigma attached to applying for a period leave.”

The statement concluded, “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.”

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