Menstrual Hygiene Management and Women's Economic Empowerment: A Review of Existing Evidence

To better understand the experiences of working women globally, USAID’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Partnerships and Learning for Sustainability (WASHPaLS) project conducted a review of the limited evidence on the adequacy of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) in the workplace to identify the cost-effectiveness, sustainability, and scalability of approaches to improve conditions. This report presents the findings of the review and describes some of the challenges experienced by working women and provides guidance for future investments. Findings and recommendations are drawn from three complementary lines of inquiry: (i) a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature; (ii) a comprehensive search of the gray literature; and (iii) key informant interviews with experts in the areas of MHM, gender, and water, sanitation, and hygiene. Interviewing working women was beyond the scope of this desk-based review. The systematic review identified 11 relevant articles (plus one additional article published after the search was completed). The review of gray literature led to the inclusion of 55 documents, and the team interviewed 20 key informants representing international donors, non-profit organizations, and academia.