Larsen and Toubro is back in news, after the company’s chairman, SN Subrahmanyan, announced a one-day period leave for women employees. Subrahmanyan faced severe backlash a few months ago for endorsing the 90-hour work week culture. This recent move has invited a lot of reactions on social media. While some of them are hailing Subrahmanyan, others not so much.
A user on reddit.com said, “This stinks of ‘damage repair’. This shows how distant his knowledge and thereafter sensitivity is about women. He should just keep quite for few months and let public memory fade. That’s a better damage repair than putting his foot in mouth every time he speaks.” Another user wrote, “And now they will probably stop hiring women.”
The reddit thread was full of such comments with some of the users saying that the company may even ask for proof for taking this leave. Others went on to say that giving work from home as an option would have been much better. “At least give WFH, Life has become Shit. All life goes in travelling. Cook food, Clean home. We can’t afford a maid on your peanuts sallary. And they also want long working hours,” a user wrote.
Some reactions were also positive. A user on X wrote, “This is a huge win for gender parity at the workspace. And kudos to Larsen & Toubro and Chairman SN Subrahmanyan for taking this massive step towards progressive policies in corporate India. Menstrual leave must be mandatory.” Another user said, “Hope he doesn’t expect women employees to compensate menstrual leave later or following week…”
The leave is only applicable for women employees of the parent company, L&T, and not to its subsidiaries in financial services or technology.
L&T has around 60,000 employees, including women employees who are around 5,000 or 9% of the workforce. These are the women who will benefit from this new policy.
This move comes just weeks after Subrahmanyan faced criticism for encouraging employees to work 90 hours a week and not “stare at their wives.” The company later defended the comments, saying they were in line with its goal of contributing to the nation’s development.
Other companies like Swiggy and Zomato have introduced similar menstrual leave policies, but major businesses have not yet followed suit.