Initiative aims to challenge outdated norms and set a new standard for corporate miscarriage policy

UAE, 9 April 2025 — In a bold move to address a silent workplace injustice, UAE-based women’s platform ItsHerWay has launched The Leave of Absence the first corporate pledge calling on companies to introduce formal bereavement leave for employees who have experienced a miscarriage – starting with the UAE, and intending to go global across markets that have yet to make headway in solving an acute inequality. More than 1 in 5 pregnancies worldwide end in miscarriage and the same statistic is true in the UAE.

With 95% of employed women (and men) who experienced a miscarriage reporting taking no time off work to recover, this stark absence of compassion from corporate policies reveals an uncomfortable truth: The loss of a child before birth is not treated as a loss at all.

The Leave of Absence pledge aims to change this, calling on companies to recognize the deep pain and loss that comes with a miscarriage and implement compassionate bereavement policies that offer parents time to heal.

Companies can now sign the pledge and join a movement that aims to shift corporate culture across the region and beyond.

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.” 

The initiative is already gaining traction, with businesses and HR leaders across the UAE expressing interest in adopting the policy. Companies can download a template of the pledge from http://theleaveofabsence.com/ and submit to their own HR departments. It’s also where heads of companies can sign the pledge to show their support for the cause and implement miscarriage leave for both women and men.

Raising Awareness Through Storytelling

To support the initiative, ItsHerWay has launched an emotional awareness campaign, featuring a short film titled The Needed Space. The film offers a deeply moving portrayal of life after miscarriage. Not through people but through fragments of many homes, each caught in a different chapter of parenthood-in-waiting: an untouched crib, folded baby clothes, sterilised bottles. All symbols of love paused in time. Set to a lullaby-like rendition of “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” the film has been created to evoke empathy and encourage corporate leaders to reconsider outdated policies around parental loss.

Tahaab Rais, Chief Strategy Officer at Publicis Groupe and director of the film said: “Sometimes a lot can be said, by not saying or showing a lot. And that was precisely the direction taken to bring the message to people with this film to launch this meaningful initiative. A lot of us, including I, as a father, have gone through the unseen trauma of miscarriage. It takes its toll. But companies don’t treat it as that. So, this initiative matters in unveiling it as what it is - a death to a loved one - and allow the space for miscarriage grief.”

The campaign also includes a series of disguised Facebook Marketplace-style ads with listings for never-used baby items like onesies and nursery furniture. The asking price? Compassionate leave.