I am an oversharer. That’s why I have absolutely no qualms about talking to anyone who’ll listen to me about my period. Whether painful, difficult or just gross, I am not afraid to go into detail, even at work.
One of the reasons I feel so comfortable talking about my period is because it has been incredibly painful for the past four years. It’s almost impossible for me not to talk about it because once a month I squirm in pain, can’t move or, in the worst case, pass out if I don’t get to the pain medication quickly enough. It was really difficult for me because, as you would expect from a production manager in a fast-paced advertising company, I don’t want to be held back by anything and it frustrates me that I have to take things slower or worse for a few days once a month, doesn’t show up once.
But when it first happened at Contented, I made a conscious effort to tell my bosses (all men) exactly why I would be late for work that day and to tell my colleagues why I was holding a hot water bottle on mine Desk sat. It was really important to me not to lie and just as important to see that they take it seriously. They never made me feel guilty, ashamed, or in trouble, which was a great relief.
But I seem to be in the minority because, according to a study by Bloody Good Period, “nine out of 10 of those who menstruate say they have menstrual anxiety at work”.”. Your campaign with the title “No Shame Here” culminated in one incredible music video (Pictured above), which was released on Menstrual Health Day and aimed to reduce the shame associated with menstruation and get society to accept this natural biological process.
And it’s not just periods that we have a problem with. In her recent Channel 4 documentary Sex, Myths & the Menopause, Davina McCall stated that nine out of ten women thought menopause was negatively affecting their working lives, but only one in 10 companies had a working menopause policy.
Why is there so much shame? And why are we so afraid to talk about women’s health in the workplace? Because traditionally, our jobs in this area have never really been safe places. We keep it quiet because we fear for our jobs (Just take a look at some of the Real stories screwed on pregnant then). We keep silent because often there is no one in the industry to speak to without fear or embarrassment, and there are also HR policies that address our issues.
Now that I have come to a point in my career where I can make a difference, I have recognized the real need for workplace policies that fully embrace women’s health in an inclusive and empathic way. So I set out to write one.
Working with Lucy Barker, a consultant from Human Nature HR, we spent a lot of time talking about Contented and its culture and how I wanted to translate the openness, empathy and support I experienced there into a workplace policy. It helped me realize that while I thought this was going to be a women’s health policy, it actually translated into a full D&I policy because we could apply the same mindset to any area of life where work and home intersect .
Our policies therefore encompass everything from equal opportunities in hiring to flexible working, gender-neutral language in job descriptions, adoption and fertility treatments, sex reassignment, menstrual health and much more.
The directive goes into detail on how we can aim for a more diverse and gender equitable workplace, not just by empowering women but also by providing opportunities for men. Tangible things like improved motherhood and fatherhood are great, but it’s the intangible support you get from a supportive work culture that is really the backbone of our politics. No matter what you are going through, come and talk to us and we will work out something that suits your needs for this time. It’s not a blanket policy, because that’s not how life works, but it is the basis of a positive work culture.
I posted Contented’s policy on LinkedIn and immediately received a barrage of messages from people across the industry who all wanted tips and advice on creating a policy in their own organization. Here are my top tips for creating an authentic D&I policy:
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Be ready to listen. The main purpose of the directive is to give people permission to speak openly about things they need help with and to find a way to assist them. If anything dissuades our employees from reading the policy, I hope they know they can talk to either of us about what they’re going through.
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Be authentic. Make sure it reflects your culture and your people, because a good D&I policy cannot cover up the cracks in a bad work culture.
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It’s never perfect or finished. An inclusive D&I policy will always be in the works. I’m already working on the next level of our policy to include more about mental health, disability and neurodiversity.
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Make it public. The hardest part of creating the policy was figuring out what the “industry standard” was – but many of the topics we covered don’t exist, so be brave to get your policy out: share it with your co-workers, yours Network and the entire industry to inspire others and inform them about what industry standards should look like.
You can find ours on our website at https://www.contentedgroup.com/our-policy
Anneka Vestey is Production Manager at Contented.
source https://dailyhealthynews.ca/how-shame-around-womens-health-led-me-to-create-a-dei-policy-for-all-analysis/
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