88.3% men do not take additional household tasks to ease their partner’s burden during periods: everteen Menstrual Hygiene Survey

India’s leading feminine hygiene brand everteen has released the findings of its 9th annual menstrual hygiene survey. The survey received more than 7800 responses from people aged 18-35 years, including participation from nearly 1000 men most of whom had completed graduation or above. everteen has also released a short Hindi film based on real events to highlight the need for educating men about menstrual periods.

60.2% of the men who participated in the everteen Menstrual Hygiene Survey 2024 said they spoke to their partner about periods very openly. However, more than half of men (52.2%) accepted they have never bought a menstrual product for their partner ever in life! Only 11.7% men said they take on extra responsibilities for the household tasks when their partner is on periods in an effort to ease her burden. 77.7% men have done little to no research to educate themselves about menstruation to better understand their partner’s experience during periods.

69.8% men felt that social stigmas and taboos make it hard for them to discuss openly about periods with their female partners. 65.3% men agreed there should be more emphasis on educating males on menstruation.

Even this first step of including men in a survey about menstruation helped shift some perceptions as 41.3% males promised to educate themselves more about periods after taking this survey, while 27.7% said they will listen to their partner’s needs and provide support during periods. 21.2% men said they will communicate more openly with their partners on the subject.

Mr. Chirag Pan, CEO of PAN Healthcare, says, “Males must unequivocally participate if we want to truly realize the vision of a period-friendly world. If half of the world’s population is unconcerned or uneducated about periods, the goal of a period-friendly world cannot be accomplished. In a society like India where taboos make it hard for men to accept menstrual periods as a normal phenomenon, we have tried to make humble beginnings by including male participation in our everteen menstrual hygiene survey this year, and include them in conversations around menstruation. I am happy to see the positive impact with so many male participants promising to taking on additional actions to support their female partners during periods.”

Adds Mr. Hariom Tyagi, CEO of Wet and Dry Personal Care, the maker of everteen, “The responses we got from our everteen menstrual hygiene survey targeting women respondents also emphasise a need for creating more awareness among men on the subject of periods. Nearly 90% women said they do not feel comfortable discussing periods with their father or brother, while three in four women (77.4%) do not feel comfortable discussing it with their husbands! Only 8.4% women are comfortable discussing period-related issues with their male colleagues at workplace.”

The everteen menstrual hygiene survey also showed that 7.1% women still do not discuss periods with anyone in their family. 56.8% women still feel uncomfortable buying sanitary essentials from a grocery or chemist shop especially when other customers are present. 51.8% women were unable to sleep well during the first two days of periods, while a whopping 79.6% worried about the risk of spotting at night during sleep. 64.7% women experienced moderate to severe menstrual cramps. 53.1% women avoid going outdoors during periods. One in four women (25.8%) did not know what to do in case of a white discharge, and only 32.8% women consulted a doctor for the issue.

87.1% women felt that instead of providing menstrual leaves, companies should focus on creating menstrual friendly workplaces, and 91.1% women felt companies that promote this concept would attract more female employees to join.

Every year, everteen undertakes a massive exercise to engage with women in India to encourage them to speak up on the issue of menstruation openly. As a pioneer in complete feminine intimate hygiene, everteen continually promotes awareness on feminine and menstrual hygiene through campaigns like #FixYourPeriods, #SheNeedsPad and #PadHerLife. Today, everteen offers more than 35 different feminine hygiene and wellness products for women including Period Care sanitary pads, Relax Nights Ultra overnight sanitary pads, silicone menstrual cups, menstrual cup cleanser, tampons, panty liners, bikini line hair remover crèmes, pH-balanced intimate washes, toilet seat sanitizer, feminine serums, gels and more.