Menstrual Equity: It’s Time to Upgrade Your Menstrual Hygiene Management

Updated on March 3, 2023

Prioritizing menstrual hygiene equity and menstrual hygiene management in the workplace is essential to a safe work environment and gender equality in the workplace.

If you are someone who doesn’t menstruate, or you’re looking to understand why creating a clean, safe environment for those who do is so important, consider the following. 

Imagine you are at work, or any public setting, and you didn’t have the supplies, space or waste options you needed to simply go to the bathroom?

“Embarrassed.”

“Uncomfortable.”

“Unhygienic!”

Toilet Paper

 

86% of people who menstruate have gotten their period unexpectedly while out in public and are left without the proper facilities in commercial washrooms.

But today, facilities managers and business owners do have access to the menstrual hygiene supplies and services to create period equity and period dignity in the workplace. 

It’s a new period in history! Read on to learn more about what you can do to upgrade your menstrual hygiene management and menstrual disposal solutions to create more period positive spaces today! 

 

What period hygiene looks like without menstrual equity 

Here’s a quick look at what happens when menstruators enter public bathrooms without menstrual equity.

No Menstrual Care ProductsNo Menstrual Waste DisposalNo Options

Try Toilet Paper

Risk embarrassment.

Flush products down the toilet

Create plumbing blockages.

Panic

Stop working or end the visit and go home.

 

Menstruation is not going to go away. It’s here to stay, but the social expectations around menstruation are changing.

We’ve come a long way since the early days of human evolution, both in our biological menstruation cycles, and in our standards for personal and workplace hygiene.

Due to changes in life expectancy and better nutrition than menstruators of the past, scientists believe menstruators bleed more heavily nowadays than before, and that menopause doesn’t begin until about the age of 50 – unlike our ancestors of the 1800s, who reached menopause around the age of 40.

All this to say: menstruators bleed a lot for a long time, and more recently, the expectations around the provision of menstrual products and disposal solutions are now far ahead of the many inadequate facilities in commercial washrooms today.

 

The Gap Between Menstrual Hygiene Needs and Washroom Realities is Big – Period.  

Are your facilities, standards and provision of care up on par?

Do your washrooms provide the supplies, disposal services and hygienic units needed to protect your team, your visitors and customers?

Businesses have a duty of care and safety to ensure all those who menstruate can safely and hygienically dispose of menstrual hygiene products wherever they are.

Close the gap between hygiene needs and washroom realities. 

Keep reading to find out if your washroom meets today’s elevated hygiene expectations:

  • Understand the evolution of menstrual hygiene standards
  • Know what your employees and customers expect of your facilities today
  • See how personal health and hygiene is social health and hygiene
  • Discover what your options are for hygienic menstrual product disposal – like disposing of tampons and sanitary napkins
See also  Citron Hygiene Receives The Recommended Workplace Award

 

The Evolution of Menstrual Hygiene Standards

Through the many periods of our collective history, we’ve handled menstruation and hygiene in a variety of ways – some of them being highly questionable by today’s standards.

There have been eras during which anyone menstruating was believed to be a sorceress, or times where those who are menstruating were required to isolate themselves until they stopped bleeding.

Thankfully, these days, we don’t require someone who is menstruating to go off and hide for a week every month (though some of us might like to do just that).

We have a better understanding of the biology of menstruation and are more aware of the needs of those who menstruate.

And we definitely have higher expectations around personal hygiene and workplace hygiene today than we did in the past.

But, unfortunately there is a dire lack of awareness, hygiene protocol, products and services to support those who are menstruating while out in public, at work or at school

However, there are ways to get it right, as an employer or business owner, and it starts with considering the needs of those in the workplace who menstruate.

 

The History of Menstrual Hygiene Management 

Our expectations of decent menstrual hygiene have most certainly evolved in recent years to meet sanitation standards worthy of the post-pandemic twenty-first century.

More eco-friendly products are being created, and menstrual hygiene products have been accepted as a necessary addition to every facility’s consumable products available to guests in public bathrooms.

In the same way that we provide soap and paper towels to each visitor who uses the washroom, facilities are expected to ensure that each individual who menstruates has access to the supplies required to attend to their needs with dignity

This includes providing the means to properly dispose of hygiene products – and to do so in a way that meets today’s infection prevention and control best practices.

Tampons in the Toilet

How to Create a Safe Work Environment 

As mentioned above, society’s standards of hygiene have changed. The general public is more aware of infection prevention protocols and they have an increased fear of germs and infection.

Today, your customers expect the bathrooms they visit to be visibly clean, odorless, and definitely as free of germs as possible to prevent the spread of contagious infections and blood-borne pathogens.

Those who menstruate expect to have the supplies they need easily accessible, and to dispose of menstrual waste hygienically and discreetly.

 

The importance of feeling clean on your period 

Your average customers and employees expect your facilities to do their part to prevent the spread of contamination and infections.

According to a study cited by Harvard Health, proper sanitization and ventilation of washrooms can effectively limit the spread of viruses concentrated in aerosols (such as the spray, or plume, that erupts from toilets at each flush).

64% of Americans are so disgusted by the thought of touching things in a public washroom that they use their feet to flush the toilets and won’t touch the taps or door handles with their bare hands.

So when menstruators get their periods and have to cram their sanitary waste into overflowing, unhygienic metal wall boxes, it isn’t just an inconvenience – it’s a health and safety issue. Menstrual health and hygiene practices are essential to the wellbeing of menstruators on their periods

From preventing infection to helping menstruators stay comfortable at work, you can support menstrual health and hygiene with sanitary waste disposal systems and access to free menstrual products.

See also  Touch-free Restrooms Whitepaper

 

Prioritizing period dignity 

Your employees, visitors and customers also expect to be able to menstruate with dignity, which includes free access to menstrual products, as well as options for safe and hygienic disposal of menstrual waste.

Similar to how most of us would not carry our used toilet paper out of the stall to dispose of it, menstruators do not want to carry their used products out of the stall to the garbage cans in the public areas of the washroom.

For the sake of your facilities (and your plumbing bills) you don’t want pads and tampons to be flushed down the toilet. In order to avoid this, your facility needs to have a conveniently located sanitary disposal system within a short arm’s reach of the toilet, where visitors can safely and easily dispose of their products.

You need something more appropriate for today’s high standards of personal and workplace hygiene than those bulky metal boxes affixed to your stall walls.

You need a sanitary disposal system that is clean, odorless, and touch-free. You need menstrual hygiene disposal containers that take up minimal space and are designed to match your washroom aesthetics.

You need Citron’s touch-free sanitary waste bins. Learn more about what’s included in our risk-free trial.

 

Prioritizing period hygiene benefits for staff &  businesses

Failing to adequately address menstrual hygiene management can have social and financial costs on workers and the workplace. These costs can include reduced productivity and even an increased lack of attendance at work.

Citron’s suite of professional washroom hygiene services ensures that you:

  • Protect your staff and washroom visitors from blood-borne pathogens
  • Never run out of consumable washroom and hygiene products
  • Always meet your health and safety standards with clean, professional, on-time service
  • Provide inclusive, dignified options for all

Add investing in sanitary waste services to your washroom maintenance checklist. If you want to learn more, you can request a virtual demo today. We offer a complementary risk-free trial of our products and services for one month.

 

Personal Health is Social Health

It’s no secret that corporate and facility managers have more social responsibility today than they may have had in years past.

As the manager of facility services, you may need to consider how to ensure your company can be eco-friendly and socially inclusive while also ensuring staff know how to properly dispose of hygiene products. Added to that, you also need to make sure that you are able to provide controlled contamination services.

You have a lot on your plate!

Or, you can take a load off your own shoulders and hire a team of trained professionals who have built these values into their services.

Work with an expert vendor who can help you with choosing services and initiatives that have a positive impact on society and the environment through gender equality and inclusion, period dignity and sustainability.

At Citron Hygiene, we believe in creating equitable and inclusive washroom spaces for everyone. We will help you achieve a reputation as a socially responsible and socially progressive company through your washroom and hygiene products and services.

Your business has a duty of care to ensure all those who menstruate can safely and hygienically dispose of menstrual hygiene products wherever they are.

Don’t wait to create a healthy and safe space for the people who use your washrooms. Contact Citron to schedule a free facility hygiene consultation to see how your facility compares to today’s standards of social inclusion and public health and safety.

There are many benefits to hiring professional services to take care of your washroom sanitization.

See also  When Sick Employees Come to Work

When you prioritize period dignity in the workplace, you and your employees reap the positive benefits. 

34 percent of menstruators went home when they got their periods at work in order to get supplies. By providing free access to period products in the workplace, you can help menstruators to feel safe and comfortable enough to stay at work during their periods. 

Supporting period health and hygiene can also boost a menstruator’s sense of self, confidence and personal empowerment.

 

What Are My Options For Waste Disposal of Menstrual Products?

Unfortunately still to this day, many people think that you can flush tampons and sanitary napkins down the toilet. 

The top two reasons menstruators flush period products like pads down the toilet are:

  1. Lack of hygienic menstrual hygiene disposal solutions – i.e. public washrooms still using the metal wall box
  2. Lack of awareness and menstrual hygiene education

Citron Hygiene is the leading provider of touchless, odourless menstrual hygiene disposal units including sanitary bins and tampon disposal units. 

You have options when you choose Citron as your washroom hygiene partner.

With Citron, you can rest assured that you will receive:

  • Reliable on-time servicing so your consumables never run out
  • A hassle free experience that anticipates your needs
  • Restorative washroom deep cleaning
  • Hand care hygiene services such as sanitizers and soaps
  • Feminine hygiene product dispensers
  • Touch free, regularly sanitized waste disposal bins

For an easy visual of the benefits and functions of menstrual waste disposal products, we’ve broken down the key benefits of personal hygiene disposal solutions that you can choose from when equipping your washrooms with essential supplies.

SafeDignified

Touch-free dispensers and waste bins to protect visitor’s hands from contact with dirty surfaces, controlling risk of contamination.

Safe waste disposal in sanitized, sealed containers and professional removal of waste to protect visitors from blood-borne pathogens.

Free period products are available for emergency use to any washroom visitor.

Clean, dignified disposal options that allow visitors to dispose of their menstrual hygiene products from the toilet.

HygienicInclusive

Your washrooms will be visually clean, which increases trust of your facility and satisfaction with your brand.

Sealed containers reduce or eliminate odors in your washrooms.

Free period products ensure that all visitors can access emergency products, regardless of funds.

We offer inclusive menstrual disposal options so that products are available in every washroom, for any visitor.

 

Not sure where to begin? Start a conversation with a Citron Hygiene Expert. 

Washrooms may contain germs, but with Citron you can mitigate the spread of infections, control contamination, reduce the germs on touchpoints, and ensure that your facility is customer-ready and health and safety approved – faster, easier, and stress-free.

Here’s a look into how getting started with our service works:

  1. Reliable servicing: Citron Certified Technicians maintain each system on a predetermined schedule. All sanitary waste is removed discretely from the client’s premises.
  2. Guaranteed quality: Exclusive CitronSyncTM technology is your guarantee of service.

Request a personalized demo today, and let us show you how easy it can be to keep your washroom in great shape year round.

Find out how we can elevate your washroom experience today.

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