Executive Coach Claims Women On Their Periods Shouldn’t Make ‘Critical Decisions’
An executive coach has claimed women shouldn’t make important decisions when they are on their period [Photo: startupstockphotos.com via Pexels]
Just when you think we’ve made some strides in the fight against period shaming an executive coach goes and says the female of the species shouldn’t be making important decisions when they are menstruating. And before you tsk and chalk it down to yet another example of sexism, we should point out that the executive coach in question was a woman.
Sarah Macarthur-King, who runs Invictus Coaching Solutions in Australia, wrote an article for HerCanberra about how women can manage premenstrual tension (PMT) when in a leadership position.
“We are called upon to be consistent and professional, which for some of us, can seem almost impossible when ‘that time of the month’ kicks in. Last time I checked, ‘psycho’ is not a leadership quality. Thanks Mother Nature…,” the article begins.
Before going on to offer her tips on negotiating the PMT rollercoaster.
“Don’t make any critical decisions,” she advises. “If they are that critical, waiting a week won’t hurt. If you do have to though, enlist someone you trust to run it by for a sanity check.”
A sanity check? Hold on, we need to get our heads around this for a minute. Can you imagine being asked by your boss to make a call on something at work, and having to run it past a male or non-menstruating colleague first, you know, just to check you’ve not turned into some incompetent moron because you happen to be on your period.
Sarah Macarthur-King believes women should refrain from making ‘critical decisions’ when they are menstruating [Photo: Instagram/sarahmacarthurking]
Unsurprisingly there has been such a backlash on social media that the post had to be removed from Facebook.
But speaking to Daily Mail, Ms Macarthur-King defended her article saying she stood by her comments.
“The article was based purely on my experience, and from assisting some of my clients with issues like that,” she said.
“There was a pattern of behaviour I started to notice in myself, and I thought what can I do about it?”
“I’m not saying women are crazy and they can’t make decisions,” the executive coach continued. “The kind of critical decisions I was talking about is don’t go and make a decision to buy a house.”
This isn’t the first time a professional woman has claimed women should refrain from making important decisions when they are on their period.
Should women alter their behaviour at work when they are on their period? [Photo: Tim Gouw via Pexels]
In 2014 Dr. Maryam Matar, chairman and founder of UAE Genetic Diseases Association advised an audience of female professionals at the Arab Women in Leadership and Business Summit in Dubai that women should avoid making important decisions while menstruating.
“I noticed all decisions that I regret were directly related to my oestrogen,” she said at the summit.
“So as a woman leader, you have your calendar, please be aware about your first day of your period. Two days before that and the first day of your menstruation and the second day try to avoid any decision.”
But wait, there’s more…she went on to suggest that women should steer clear of board meetings while on their period and drink green tea to calm them down and make them less ‘violent’. Jeez!
Is it just us, or do statements like these made by intelligent, professional women merely play into the hands of gender inequality and set back the period-shaming we’re fighting so hard to eradicate. Or is it purely a science thing?Should women just accept that our hormones could determine how we act at that time of the month?
The news comes as it was reported yesterday that some men are using apps to track their female colleagues periods so they can ‘avoid unnecessary situations’ and ‘stay away from trouble’.
What do you think? Should women refrain from making big decisions when they are on their periods? Join the debate @YahooStyleUK
Men Are Using Apps To Track Their Female Colleagues’ Periods
