The collaboration is a step towards improving overall participation from women in the workforce through period-poverty free schools and workplaces
Mumbai, 27 May 2022: Quess Corp, India’s leading business service provider, has entered into a corporate partnership with Sustainable Menstruation Coalition (SMC), a global coalition aiming to eradicate period poverty. The partnership aims to positively impact over 400,000+ Quess associates, 3000+ corporate clients, 7000+ core employees, and 2 million+ employee family ecosystem through company-wide menstruation awareness campaigns encouraging behavioural change and education on a wide scale.
The Sustainable Menstruation Coalition is a strategic alliance of companies and NGOs that uses innovative financing and on-ground activation to empower menstruators to choose sustainable menstrual hygiene products that benefit their health and wellbeing. Through this collaboration, Quess Corp and SMC will together tackle workplace stigma, taboos, and promote sustainable menstruation practices among the workforce and their larger ecosystems to impact health, sustainability goals, and gender parity at the workplace.
Quess aims to become a Period Victory workplace which provides access to sustainable menstruation products and celebrates dignified menstruation free of shame or stigma. This collaboration is a step towards impacting the female workforce participation within Quess, enabling awareness on sustainable products as well as facilitating a safe and hygienic work environment for all gendered employees and their families. Further, this partnership extends to schools and educational institutes as part of Quess Corp’s CSR arm, Careworks Foundation (CWF).
Speaking on the partnership, Lohit Bhatia, President of Workforce Management, Quess Corp said, “We believe that social security can only be achieved through formal employment, and this is what workers of all classes need, including women. One of the biggest deterrents for women entering the workforce is the discontinuation of education when they hit puberty due to lack of toilets in public schools or lack of access to hygienic menstruation products. Something as natural as periods cannot put a girl child’s access to education and future employment at risk. We are confident that through this partnership, we should be able to make a difference to the lives of several little girls who aspire for a financially secure future.”
Reports maintain that 64% Indian women do not have access to menstrual hygiene products, while 23 million Indian girls drop out of school annually after they start their period. It is also estimated that women in India miss on average 50 days of work a year due to their menstrual cycles. The scale of unawareness and lack of access to hygienic health accessories are a contributor to the low participation of women in the workforce as these factor into the education of girls and consequently, the employment of women in the workforce.
“Even in our workforce, we have been striving to improve women participation and seeing a quarter-on-quarter increase in their enrolment. In order to continue this momentum till it reaches the desired level, steps like creating awareness and giving access to hygienic menstruation products will go a long way”, added Mr. Bhatia
The Sustainable Menstruation Coalition (SMC) aims to empower menstruators in India to gain awareness on menstrual hygiene practices through the adoption of sustainable menstruation products. The coalition intends to positively impact the reduction of waste and greenhouse gas emissions with the goal of providing sustainable menstrual products to 100 million menstruators across India by 2030.
TrueFootprint, a Social enterprise that helps companies meet their ESG goals through sustainable practices will be enabling this coalition by measuring the impact of the programme through their FieldApp which allows for in-app exchange of solutions and best practices whilst also monitoring usage, training and supplies.
Imran Wali Ahmad, Managing Director, TrueFootprint & Founding Member, SMC added, “As the non-profit, Project Drawdown highlights, one of the most impactful solutions for climate change lies in the education of girls; one of the biggest barriers identified is poor menstrual hygiene practices. We are hopeful that with the support of like-minded institutions like Quess, we should be able to reach our common goal of providing sustainable menstrual products to 100 million women and girls across India in the next 7 years, in alignment with the UN’s 2030 SDG targets.”
As part of the initiative, SMC has actioned a baseline survey with female employees at Quess to understand their level of comfort, menstrual knowledge, and access to period products. An awareness program specialised to the survey findings will be undertaken to sensitise menstruators about period hygiene and introduce them to sustainable/alternate products. All genders of the workforce will be a part of this program to encourage continuous learning of the menstrual landscape and normalise the phenomenon. Further, knowledge dissemination through sensitization seminars, workshops, and donation campaigns will also be undertaken to aid menstruators outside the company.
