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The workshop comes as the to allocate $25 million a year to make sanitary products available in all Australian public high schools.

Research Associate, Sydney Colussi, said the COVID-19 pandemic has drawn attention to workers鈥� health needs including menstrual and reproductive healthcare.

鈥淚t鈥檚 no secret that COVID-19 turned the working world upside down. Underscoring the conversations about work from home policies and physical distancing is a rising awareness of workers鈥� needs, such as the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline workers,鈥� Ms Colussi said.

鈥淲e need to include menstrual and reproductive healthcare as part of this conversation. Girls are taught from a young age that periods are a private, sometimes shameful issue. But these old attitudes must change if our workplaces are to be productive and inclusive.鈥�

The researchers found in a forthcoming paper that 17 countries have implemented or are considering menstrual policies, with Australian businesses leading the way.

鈥淒espite this progress, we are still failing to address menstruation at the policy level. This affects gender equality and could undermine Australia鈥檚 obligations to respect and protect women鈥檚 human rights. These policies could help make menstruation and menopause a normal part of workplace life,鈥� Associate Professor Elizabeth Hill from the Department of Political Economy said.

The Victorian Women鈥檚 Trust introduced a menstrual leave policy in 2017, allowing employees to work from home or claim paid leave for menstruation or menopause. Organisations in the private sector including and have since followed suit and introduced similar policies.

But some feminists argue that menstrual leave policies can push gender equality backwards.

鈥淢enstrual leave can be a polarising issue for organisations and feminists alike. Many argue such policies can exacerbate gender discrimination and reinforce harmful stereotypes that women are physically weak and less capable while menstruating,鈥� Professor Marian Baird from the University of Sydney Business School said.

鈥淲e shouldn鈥檛 write off a policy solution such as menstrual and menopause leave but it does need to be designed very carefully and in an inclusive way. Rather than dismissing the policy, we need to have a respectful and open debate about how women鈥檚 reproductive health needs can be accommodated in the workplace.鈥�

Associate Professor Hill said: 鈥湼咔甯＠�片 on the history of menstrual leave in Australia shows that local innovations only started in the early 2000s, when the Sydney University Students鈥� Representative Council and the Australian Manufacturing Workers鈥� Union were involved in two separate industrial disputes over menstrual leave.鈥�

Another example of Australia鈥檚 leading role in this space was the petition to remove the 鈥榯ampon tax鈥�. Led by Subeta Vimalarajah, University of Sydney student and Wom*n鈥檚 Officer, the petition called on then Treasurer Joe Hockey to remove GST on feminine hygiene products, which was legislated in 2018.