Man fired for stating that menstruation affects some women's productivity - the truth is sexist

omdoks · 2011-07-27T04:03:23+00:00

He didn't state it was just a productivity issue... he stated it in defense of a 12% wage gap between men and women. That article selectively quotes and doesn't cover what the talk was really about.

If you would like more info, feel free to search for Alasdair Thompson on http://stuff.co.nz or http://nzherald.co.nz or http://scoop.co.nz - scoop has a lot of press releases, before the media gets a chance to distort what people/groups say... stuff and nzherald cover the major newspapers here in NZ

The State Services Commission’s Human Resources Capability Study here in New Zealand, where Alasdair Thompson was head of the Employers and Manufacturers Association, found a 1.6 day difference in sick leave taken... and that includes domestic sick leave to look after children http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1106/S00840/sick-leave-stats-show-little-difference-between-men-women.htm

I can see seniority, danger involved in certain jobs that are male dominated, bad conditions/hours in jobs more often filled by men as being totally valid reasons to discuss a wage gap... but Alasdair Thompson just made an unfounded, and clearly sexist, statement and deserved to be dumped from a major industry association. The idea that men's rights activists would pick up on this as some slight against men does a huge disservice to equality, in my opinion, and only adds to why people are not likely to take MR seriously.

huntwhales · 2011-07-27T01:34:38+00:00

And how do we know it's the truth? I mean, I guess it wouldn't surprise me (I could see women taking extra sick days or something because of it), but the OP is literally the first person I've heard say such a thing. C'mon everyone, don't just assume it's true with nothing to back it up. Nothing in the article backs up the claim.

It's pretty odd that someone would get fired for that, though. That's pretty WTF. Depends on the circumstances, I guess.

omdoks · 2011-07-27T02:47:31+00:00

There is some evidence that this is true. This paper shows

that the probability of an absence due to illness increases for females, relative to males, approximately 28 days after a previous illness. This difference disappears for workers age 45 or older. We interpret this as evidence that the menstrual cycle raises female absenteeism.

While higher absenteeism does not necessarily mean lower productivity, in most instances it probably does.

2011-07-27T08:10:51+00:00

Thompson says women miss more time at work due to family responsibilities and menstruation and that affects their overall productivity.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21547885/ns/business-personal_finance/t/female-absenteeism-not-just-about-child-care/

The fact that as a group women miss more time than men has been documented , and missing time certainly affects productivity. Is the controversy really about his supposition that menstruation plays a role in female absenteeism? If it is then it is making a big deal out of nothing.

MuForceShoelace · 2011-07-27T02:14:47+00:00

see, this is why everyone thinks menrights is a forum devoted to saying women are inferior to men. (because it is that)

otakuman · 2011-07-27T05:45:22+00:00

Until scientists find a harmless way to rid women of menstruation, it is the duty of the enterprise to absorb the costs. Are we saying also that pregnant women are less productive? C'mon!

I'm all for men's rights, but that comment was totally out of place.

2011-07-27T06:23:07+00:00

It doesn't even matter if its true or not. The fact that you can get fired over something like this is absurd. The slutwalks too, all because a police officer made a comment about how to avoid rape. It doesn't MATTER if it was good advice or not. When is the next time a police officer will dare to talk about how to avoid sexual violence? How many men (and to a lesser extent - women) are silenced every day out of fear for speaking their minds. Freedom of speech isn't a principle to protect the popular majority, it exists specifically to protect the crazies and the minorities because society benefits, even the majority, from letting those voices be heard. Its not just your right to speak, its your right to hear. This is bad regardless of whether or not what he says is true.

jmnzz · 2011-07-27T00:02:59+00:00

Typical. A man makes a true statement about some of the reasons women earn less money and he is fired. But women who laugh and celebrate a man's penis being cut off go on with their jobs with no problems.

Furthermore he didn't say that menstruation was the only reason and he didn't say he meant all women. But that doesn't matter, he pissed off some women with money so he had to go.

All this male privilege must be blinding me because I cannot see how men are dominating anything when simply speaking something that angers women, whether it is true or not, will cost men their jobs.

BatmensBegins · 2011-07-27T02:25:27+00:00

This is why the best form of labor is me, Batman. Batman don't menstruate. Batman is driven by a psychopathic desire for vengeance and unresolved Oedipal feelings. Batman's the perfect man. Batman men-struates.

Batman.

Maschalismos · 2011-07-29T18:51:52+00:00

Reality has a well-known misogynistic bias.

dorisfrench · 2011-09-20T14:10:52+00:00

Yeah and then women work about 100% harder than men to make up for it.

He should have been fired. Men are lazy when women are working with them because they know they can treat women like crap!

Revorob · 2011-07-27T10:37:12+00:00

Being a woman affects women's productivity. In my years in the workforce, most women I have had to work for and with have been either lazy, incompetant or both. That is the real reason women get paid less than men.

Title	Man fired for stating that menstruation affects some women's productivity - the truth is sexist
Author	thingsarebad
Upvotes	12
Comments	88
Date	July 26, 2011 11:47 PM UTC (15 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/j0n5k/man_fired_for_stating_that_menstruation_affects/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/man-fired-for-stating-that-menstruation-affects.1036683 https://theredarchive.com/post/1036683

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