Menstrual Blood, Sweat and Tears: A Qualitative Study on Women’s Menstrual Health Management at Workplace Settings in Maputo, Mozambique

Abstract: Equal participation in safe and decent work is a crucial factor for achieving gender equality. Despite this, gender-based obstacles remain as workplaces often fail to ensure the human rights, health, and general wellbeing of their employees, with menstrual health being an especially neglected aspect of the gendered workplace experience. While menstrual health has gained increased attention over the years, potential barriers to adequate menstrual management that women in low- and middle-income countries may encounter in the workplace are still largely neglected in research, programming, and policy. Thus, there is a need for increased documentation of this topic to provide evidence for action on these levels. This study aims to continue breaking the silence around menstruation and contribute to the scarce literature on menstrual health in relation to the workplace, with a specific focus on Mozambique. By applying Hennegan et al.’s (2021) definition and conditions for menstrual health, and a socio-ecological model of health modified for the specific research, this study explores how factors at different levels affect women's ability to achieve adequate menstrual health while at work, and how this affects their work experience. Data was collected through individual interviews conducted in Maputo Province with women from Mozambique’s three largest employment sectors – agriculture, service, and industry. Following a thematic analysis, the findings show that there are several factors at the societal, environmental, organisational, interpersonal, personal, and biological levels that influence women’s ability to achieve adequate menstrual health at work. These findings confirm what previous research has stated – that menstrual health cannot just be viewed as an issue of water, sanitation, and hygiene, and a more holistic approach needs to be taken to capture all the physical, mental, and social dimensions of it. The findings also show how inadequate menstrual health can have implications for women’s wellbeing, performance, and overall experience at work. Some women reported having to perform their work differently and some could not perform certain work tasks at all during menstruation. However, most women kept doing their work as usual even during menstruation, although for some it meant having to endure pain, discomfort, and psychological distress while doing so.