Spain debates if menstrual leave policy will help or hurt

By ASHIFA KASSAM and JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press

MADRID (AP) — A government proposal that could make Spain the first country in Europe to allow workers to take menstrual leave has sparked debate over whether the policy would help or hinder women in the workplace. A leaked draft of legislation that the Spanish Cabinet is expected to discuss Tuesday proposes giving workers experiencing period pain three days of optional leave a month. It wasn’t clear if the leave would be paid or unpaid, or whether it would be offered as flexible hours that employees would have to make up within a specific time frame. Spain’s minister for inclusion, social security and migration, sought Thursday to temper expectations, describing the final version as still “under discussion.”