'Nay to Yay': Bengaluru startup includes men in paid menstrual leave to support partners

In a pathbreaking move to become a gender-responsive organisation, Horses Stable News, Bengaluru based startup has come up with an initiative to offer paid leave to not just the menstruating women employees but also men to support their spouses.

The initiative called 'Nay to Yay' is focused to offer menstrual leaves to all employees irrespective of genders.  Not just women employees, male employees will also be given a day off to take care of and comport their partners. 

This initiative allows women to take two days paid leave and offers an allowance of Rs 250 to help ease through the stress during that specific time. Horses Stable News will not count the two-day leave as sick leave. The startup has a team of around 60 per cent women and 40 per cent men. 

'We hope to break the menstrual taboo'

Saloni Agarwal, Co-Founder of Horses Productions Pvt. Ltd, the parent company of brand, said, "There's no denial of the fact that women face severe pain and cramps during their menstrual cycle and for the female workforce it gets very arduous. She further added, "The implementation of menstrual leave policy should not be termed as a gift. Our aim is to provide equal opportunities for the growth of both men and women." 

According to Agarwal, the startup aims to inspire other bigger organisations to adopt such employee-friendly policies in a step towards gender inclusivity. "We are more than happy to implement this initiative in our company and by doing so we wish to inspire other organisations to adopt this policy as a step towards gender inclusivity. With this initiative, I hope to break the menstrual taboo," she said.

With the 'Nay to Yay'' initiative, the organisation is making an attempt to improve the company culture on the lines of acknowledging the physical, psychological and emotional issues faced by its employees.

41% of women in favour of menstrual leave

Recently, an online survey was conducted which revealed that more than 80 per cent of the menstruating population has experienced some form of negative emotion such as fear, anxiety during their first period, reveals an online survey.

The survey was conducted with regards to the awareness of menstrual hygiene, taboos, perceptions and attitudes towards periods in India. It also added that the majority of men seem to rely on social media sources about the information on periods.