Many of you will have seen the story broken in The Courier by Cara Forrester about the Dundee man appointed to ‘lead the period poverty fight’.
And the furious row that has led to Martina Navratilova describing the news as, “f***ing ridiculous”.
Mr Grant was hired for the role of Period Dignity Lead Officer Regional Post to work across the Tay Cities Region to aid implementation of the Period Product Act.
Many people commenting online have suggested it is absurd to think a man could carry out the job and that the post should be advertised as women only.
And when I first saw the news, I was in this camp too.
My gut reaction was – hold on, only women, girls and some trans men/non binary people can have periods or experience the menopause, so it makes sense for the candidate to be a woman.
But the longer I thought about it, I reached a very different conclusion.
Recruiters must avoid sex discrimination
When an employer advertises a job they are expected as good practice to set out essential criteria.
These can include attributes like holding a full driving licence, degree level qualification and specific job-related experience.
It is extremely rare for an employer to advertise a job as being men/female only, for a very simple reason: it would likely be sex discrimination.
Most of us work in roles which could be undertaken by a person of any gender.
I didn’t see the job description but I imagine a full driving licence was probably on the essential criteria along with effective communication and ability to deliver training, experience of education in some form etc
— leah stalker (@LeahEStalker) August 16, 2022
For an organisation to call for a post to be women or men only they must have an occupational requirement which is crucial.
An objectively justified reason for doing so.
The other reason is that it helps a disadvantaged or under represented group.
Given the job is in the Scottish public sector it is difficult to see how the last argument could fairly apply.
Helpfully the job advert remains available online.
It calls for, “strong organisational, administrative and IT skills” and the “ability to communicated and confidently present complex information to a range of audiences”.
Men and boys must understand periods too
Despite the subject matter, I don’t see anything called for in this role that would go anywhere near meeting the test of objective justification.
It makes me think what this really comes down to is a bit of job-title knee jerkedness (I admit to making this up), because it includes the word “periods”.
And we’re still – despite what we claim – a bit weird about menstruation.
I can hear some people saying: “Yes! This is exactly why it should be a woman!”
But why should it really?
Are we saying men can’t care, can’t empathise, can’t share important information?
Really?
Over the years I’ve had some excellent care from male midwives, gynaecologists and sexual health staff.
I’ve also had pretty shoddy care from female doctors who misdiagnosed my endometriosis for years.
Was this all related to their sex? I don’t think so.
Would I have advised the employer to agree a photo call which unfortunately did appear like an entry for Scotland’s Mansplainer of the Year? No.
Does it ‘erase’ women for a man to hold this post? Of course not.
Men and boys need to understand periods and the menopause just the same as everyone else.
We have a shared duty to ensure period dignity.
Leah Stalker is a trade unionist and commentator.
EWAN GURR: I helped campaign for period dignity in Dundee – it’s time for men to step aside
Conversation