Indian food delivery and restaurant guide company Zomato will provide up to 10 extra days of “period leave” a year for female employees.
Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal made the announcement in a staff email on Saturday, stating that stigma about menstruation has been brought in to minimise it.
“At Zomato, we want to foster a culture of trust, truth and acceptance. Starting today, all women (including transgender people) at Zomato can avail up to 10 days of period leaves in a year,” he said.
Mr Goyal wrote that it was “our job to make sure that we make room for our biological needs” and that there “should be no shame or stigma” for women applying for period leave.
“You should feel free to tell people on internal groups, or emails that you are on your period leave for the day,” he said.
But Mr Goyal cautioned that women should “not abuse these leaves or use them as a crutch to take time out for other pending tasks” and report any “unnecessary harassment or distasteful comments from men” about taking leave for the duration.
“A note for men – our female colleagues expressing that they are on their period leave shouldn’t be uncomfortable for us,” he said.
“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.”