Just to be clear: De Vroed does not want to leave compulsory leave, but leave the choice to the women. “You just have to make it possible. About thirty percent of Dutch women need it. We shouldn’t make it compulsory, of course, because not every woman needs it.”
Five years ago, De Vroed already realized that general menstrual leave is a (too) big step for the Dutch. He therefore saw some benefit in the possibility of ‘flexible solutions’, such as working from home. Impossible before the corona crisis, today the reality. “Then they said, ‘That’s not possible. That has changed in the meantime,” laughs De Vroed.
In the Netherlands, the issue is not on the political agenda and that, according to De Vroed, is the reason why it is taking so long here. ,,In Spain, it did not arise in one day. A political party has supported the demand there, but here in the Netherlands we apparently don’t think women’s health is important.” His organization currently focuses mainly on youth to get things moving. “That’s where the change has to come from. It’s going very slowly, but we’re not giving up. We keep making noise.”
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