The Leave of Absence, the first corporate promise in the area, calls on firms to implement statutory bereavement leave for employees who have suffered a miscarriage. This daring initiative launched by ItsHerWay addresses a hidden workplace injustice. ItsHerWay is a women’s platform located in the United Arab Emirates.
The UAE is not an exception to the global average that almost one in five pregnancies terminate in miscarriage. However, this experience is still mostly unsaid in the workplace, despite its magnitude. Actually, 95% of UAE women (and men) who had a miscarriage while working said they didn’t take any time off to deal with the loss. There may be certain policies in place, but their inconsistent application, unclear entitlements, or the awkwardness of discussing something so private in a work setting are frequently the problems. One thing emerges from that silence: the death of a child before birth is frequently not considered a loss at all.
The Leave of Absence pledge seeks to address this by urging businesses to acknowledge the profound grief and loss associated with miscarriages and to put in place considerate grieving procedures that give parents time to recover. Businesses can now join a movement to change corporate culture in the region and beyond by signing the pledge.
Armin Jamula, Co-Founder of ItsHerWay said: “Leave of Absence sheds light on a topic often left unspoken in our region. When parents are expected to return to work the day after a miscarriage, it reveals a painful blind spot in corporate empathy. Our pledge is a call to action, to normalize such an important dialogue and encourage actionable change that offers both women and men the space to process their grief after loss.”
Businesses and HR directors around the United Arab Emirates have already shown interest in implementing the policy, indicating that the project is already gaining momentum. Businesses can submit the pledge to their own human resources departments by downloading a template from http://theleaveofabsence.com/. Additionally, it is where business leaders can sign a pledge to support the cause and provide both men and women with miscarriage leave.
ItsHerWay has started an emotional awareness campaign with a short film called ‘The Needed Space’ to support the cause. The movie presents a profoundly poignant depiction of life following a miscarriage. Not via individuals, but rather through pieces of numerous households, each trapped in a distinct stage of the impending parenthood: sterile bottles, folded baby clothes and an unopened cot. All of the love symbols halted.
