‘It’s just a period’ undermines the impact of endometriosis when girls taking time off school grow up to be women taking time off work.
Throughout 2020, a group of MPs including Sir David Amess led an inquiry into endometriosis and the effects of the condition on diagnosis time, employment, education, and mental health and wellbeing.
Due to the symptoms of the condition, a percentage of individuals reported on how the gynecological condition affecting 1 in 10 with an average diagnosis time of 7.5 years affected education and employment.
Education
Growing up is difficult enough, however, suffering with a gynecological condition that’s drowning with stigma and embarrassment is even harder. There’s plenty of research to show for the amount of young girls embarrassed by their period however. Plan International UK found that 48% of girls aged 14 to 21 in the UK were left feeling embarrassed by their periods.
“I don’t know how employers can expect women to produce work at the same standard as usual when it literally feels like they are dying”
A young person’s time at school is about forming relationships and getting a sufficient education, however, young people are being deprived of both of these due to endometriosis symptoms. Amongst a group size of 6,600 to 7,000 individuals who answered about the impacts of endometriosis on education within the government inquiry, 43% reported needing to take time off from school, whereas 44% took days off university and college.
One young woman shared her experiences of taking time off university: “When I think of how much time I have had to take off uni because of my endo symptoms, I do feel quite worried especially when I am considering a job in journalism or any sort of media since they are quite hectic jobs.”
Remote learning has allowed her to use a tens machine as a way of pain management. “To deal with my endo pain I use a Tens machine. It’s not perfect but it gets rid of the pain temporarily at least. I’ve been lucky that because I am working from home (as a uni student) I have been able to wear my Tens machine whilst on classes and my lecturers and classmates are none the wiser.” However, she commented, “I would feel embarrassed to wear the machine when in-person lectures start again even though sometimes it can be the best temporary solution as nothing else works.”
“growing up is difficult enough”
It’s not only days off school and time off of university that young girls are missing but 12% of individuals had missed exams at school and another 12% missed exams at university or college.
For certain lessons at school like physical education and sport, Plan International UK also found that 64% of girls had missed a sport or PE lesson, 52% of which lied or made an excuse as to why.
Research has also supported the idea of how women and girls’ concentration is affected by menstruation with 52% finding it difficult to focus on their studies. One young woman said, “Period pains can be unbearable and sometimes I can hardly concentrate on a simple task when I am on my period because the pain is awful. I don’t know how employers (and teachers in school) can expect women to produce work at the same standard as usual when it literally feels like they are dying.”
The difficulty in concentrating and having to miss out on things stays with girls as they grow into young women waiting to pursue a career and employment.
Employment
Endometriosis typically causes more “short, frequent absences” within the workplace which “have a greater operational impact and are therefore considered worse than longer absences”. The inquiry found that 38% of individuals felt restricted in the work they do, 38% had concerns over losing their job, and another 38% found it difficult to pursue the career they wanted.
“we need support, not judgement”
Gracie Moss is a young woman who, like these individuals, reflected in the data has worried about her future career prospects: “I do worry that my pain will affect my career prospects in the future. I am looking at working in the creative industries (TV or theatre), which are very practical career paths, and my endometriosis and future surgeries could prevent me from being able to sustain a career in these creative sectors.”
It has been suggested that menstruation policies should be written for women whether they do or don’t suffer from endometriosis. All of the women I spoke to agreed that some kind of policy should be introduced in the workplace. Holly said, “if women were allowed time off for their periods then a lot more women, endo sufferers especially, would push themselves further to reach higher career heights because they wouldn’t have to worry about falling behind if they have a difficult period.” For her she was surprised that there wasn’t anything in place already, saying, “it seems wrong that there isn’t already policies allowing this. To be honest, if it was men that got periods, I’m pretty sure there would be a number of policies to make things easier for them, so why not for women?”
Gracie also believes that they “need support, not judgement, from their employers.”
Endometriosis Friendly Employers
Many women feel embarrassed and wouldn’t feel able to be open with an employer when needing time off work so Endometriosis UK have set up an Endometriosis Friendly Employers Scheme. The scheme is in place to give employers the information and understanding so that adjustments can be made and individuals can feel more supported. The first employer to join the scheme was Standard Life Aberdeen and since, a number of employers and organisations have joined the scheme including BBC Scotland.
The Future of Working From Home
The pandemic has lent itself to individuals working from home. Going forward is this something young women believe should continue or at least be an option for endometriosis sufferers. Holly believes that, “The option to work from home will give a lot more accessibility and inclusivity for endometriosis sufferers.”
Neve Gordon-Farleigh
Photo by Yuris Alhumaydy on Unsplash. This image has in no way been altered. Image license is available here.