When I entered the formal workforce in the mid 1990s, it was a male territory. Yes, there were women in middle and senior management, but the physical and mental spaces were male.
You were often the only woman in the team, and to be accepted you had be as male as the men.
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Cigarette breaks in the landing were often the time when those outrageous ideas were thrown about and trashed like they couldn't be in a formal meeting room. Whether you smoked or not, you took those breaks because you didn't want to miss out.
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That often meant looking away when the latest "chick" was discussed. Far from objecting to it, you secretly took pride in the fact that you were accepted as "yourself" and not as a representative of your gender.
Looking back, it was so wrong, but that's how it was.
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Man up, or risk not being taken seriously.

Period leave? Forget it.
Even if you suffered a miscarriage, you wrote some flimsy excuse in the leave application, and returned to office with a wry smile in three days.
[Yes, I did. Now not proud of it, but I did.]
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Traveling was next level shit.
Many of the factories which I did project appraisals in employed only men. You got used to being started at. You learnt to keep your pinks and purples at home, and wear only black and white- all the better to become invisible in.
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What you could do nothing about was the absence of loos.
The time when I got my periods in a factory near Pitampura. I had to ask my colleague to stand guard outside the washroom, so I could slip a pad on.
That shy Associate who probably didn't know women bleed had no choice.
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But I didn't have a choice either. I was certainly not brave enough to attempt to use the washroom that the women sweeping the driveway outside the factory used. It was the gent's washroom, or nothing.
While designing the factory, nobody thought to put in a ladies washroom.
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Things still haven't changed. Women still struggle to find washrooms.
While traveling with me, my teams jokes, "Natasha Maam only wants coffee". Little do they know that it is not undrinkable coffee I seek, but a washroom.
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Women who travel in the hinterlands have just learnt to drink less water. I carry a 500 ml water bottle with me, which I fill up whenever I find a restaurant with a washroom. Input-output balance.
Often, we remain underhydrated, and suffer migraines at night.
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Field teams have it worse. More than half of them suffer from Urinary Trac Infections because they don't have access to washrooms.
When I found out about it, I told my (male) managers that the women should be encouraged to use the facilities of the families in the community.
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The instructions were never passed on, because "nobody complained to me."
Of course nobody would. Women are used to pretending their bodies don't have needs.
I needed to raise it in a mixed gender group before the instructions went down the line.
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The reality is that even today, workplaces are designed for men. The physical and emotional needs of women are not taken into consideration, much less those of transgenders or the differently abled.
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We need to first acknowledge the fundamental design flaw in workspace attitudes. Before we start to change it.

Period leave is just one part of it, though an important compoment. It is not a privilge. It is necessary to retain women in the workplace.
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The larger issue is to normalise converstations around different needs. So those issues can be addressed.

This is a conversation that needs to be led by women. Women who have struggled themselves, but who now want a more equitable workplace for the next generation.
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Women cannot hide behind "but if we demand special privileges, people will stop hiring women".
Our struggles from 25 years back cannot set the discourse for today.
We who have fought the system, beaten the system, and are now in a position to change the system, must step up.
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Period leave is not just about two extra holidays in a month. Women who cannot come to work will, if necessary, take sick leave or unpaid leave.
Period leave is about granting womam the right to exist with dignity, without having their professionalism questioned.
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More importantly, this should lead to discussions to make workplaces more friendly to diversity. It is not enough to hire diversity. Diverse needs arising out of diverse people should be acknowledged.

Also, stop guilt tripping women to not take leave if they need it. https://twitter.com/nuts2406/status/1293436149868896258?s=19

In this Barkha Dutt tries to argue that because menstruation is stigmatised in India, period leave will lead to further ghettoisation.
Actually, the stigma is why it is NECESSARY to normalise talking about your periods.
Our men are mature enough to listen! https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2017/08/03/im-a-feminist-but-giving-women-a-day-off-for-their-period-is-a-stupid-idea/#click=https://t.co/R6Cf3HCFp7

Here is a nice podcast on explaining menstruation to young people. https://twitter.com/shilpajn/status/1293539158078582786?s=20

@Disstillmyname has a similar experience. She is younger that I am. We need to ensure that this ends sooner rather than later. https://twitter.com/Disstillmyname/status/1293247864894709760?s=20

Important also to seek what is ours, without guilt or embarrassment. https://twitter.com/subhajrao/status/1293571578353946624?s=19