Potty parity is equal or equitable provision of public toilet facilities for females and males within a public space.
Parity may be defined in various ways in relation to facilities in a building. The simplest is as equal floorspace for male and female washrooms. Since men's and boys' bathrooms include urinals, which take up less space than stalls, this still results in more facilities for males. An alternative parity is by number of fixtures within washrooms. However, since females on average spend more time in washrooms more males are able to use more facilities per unit time. More recent parity regulations therefore require more fixtures for females to ensure that the average time spent waiting to use the toilet is the same for females as for males, or to equalise throughputs of male and female toilets. [1]
The lack of diaper-changing stations for babies in men's restrooms has been listed as a potty parity issue by fathers. Some jurisdictions have considered legislation mandating diaper-changing stations in men's restrooms. [2]
Women and girls often spend more time in washrooms than men and boys, for both physiological and cultural reasons. [3] The requirement to use a cubicle rather than a urinal means urination takes longer and hand washing must be done more thoroughly. [3] [4] Females also make more visits to washrooms. Urinary tract infections and incontinence are more common in females. [3] Pregnancy, menstruation, breastfeeding, and diaper-changing increase usage. [3] The elderly, who are disproportionately female, take longer and more frequent bathroom visits.
A variety of female urinals and personal funnels have been invented to make it easier for females to urinate standing up. None has become widespread enough to affect policy formation on potty parity. [4]
John F. Banzhaf III, a law professor at George Washington University, calls himself the "father of potty parity." [4] Banzhaf argues that to ignore potty parity; that is, to have merely equal facilities for males and females; constitutes a form of sex discrimination against women. [5] In the 1970s the Committee to End Pay Toilets in America made a similar point: that allowing toilet providers to charge for the use of a cubicle while urinals required no money was unfair to females. [6]
Several authors have identified potty parity as a potential rallying issue for feminism, saying all women can identify with it. [3]
Public toilets have historically been divided along the lines of sex, race, class, disability, and other distinctions. In apartheid South Africa, Israeli-occupied Palestinian and the Jim Crow American South, toilets were segregated by both sex and race. During the Victorian era in the United Kingdom, toilets were segregated by both sex and class. [7]
The first bathroom for congresswomen in the United States Capitol was opened in 1962. [8]
Segregation of toilet facilities by race was outlawed in the United States by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. [4] Provision of disabled-access facilities was mandated in federal buildings by the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 and in private buildings by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. [4] No federal legislation relates to provision of facilities for women. [4] The banning of pay toilets came about because women/girls had to pay to urinate whereas men/boys only had to pay to defecate. [4] [9]
In many older buildings, little or no provision was made for women because few would work in or visit them. Increased gender equality in employment and other spheres of life has impelled change. Until the 1980s, building codes for stadiums in the United States stipulated more toilets for men, on the assumption that most sports fans were male. [1] In 1973, to protest the lack of female bathrooms at Harvard University, women poured jars of fake urine on the steps of the university's Lowell Hall, a protest Florynce Kennedy thought of and participated in. [10]
The first "Restroom Equity" Act in the United States was passed in California in 1989. [9] It was introduced by then-Senator Arthur Torres after several long waits for his wife to return from the bathroom. [9]
Facilities for female U.S. senators on the Senate Chamber level were first provided in 1992. [3]
Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee was built in 1999 in compliance with the Tennessee Equitable Restrooms Act, providing 288 fixtures for men and 580 for women. [4] The Tennessean reported fifteen-minute waits at some men's rooms, compared to none at women's rooms. [4] The Act was amended in 2000 to empower the state architect to authorize extra men's rooms at stadiums, horse shows and auto racing venues. [11]
In 2011 the U.S. House of Representatives got its first women's bathroom near the chamber (Room H-211 of the U.S. Capitol). [12] It is only open to women lawmakers, not the public. [12]
Current laws in the United Kingdom require a 1:1 female–male ratio of restroom space in public buildings. [13] The International Building Code requires range of female to male ratio of toilets depending on the building occupancy. Most occupancies require 1:1 ratio, but Assembly uses can require up to 2:1 ratio of female to male toilets. [14] New York City Council passed a law in 2005 requiring roughly this in all public buildings. [15] [16] An advisory ruling had been passed in 2003. [16] U.S. state laws vary between 1:1, 3:2, and 2:1 ratios. [4] The Uniform Plumbing Code specifies a 4:1 ratio in movie theaters. [4]
Gender-neutral toilets are common in some contexts, including on aircraft, on trains or buses, portable toilets, and accessible toilets. In parts of Europe they are also common in buildings. In the United States, they began to appear in the 2000s on university campuses and in some upmarket restaurants. [4] Studies conducted by the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management [17] and by Ghent University have concluded that properly designed unisex restrooms can reduce waiting times for women. [18]
In 2013, the state of California passed bill 1266 ("The School Success and Opportunity Act") requiring provision of facilities consistent with a pupil's gender identity. [19]
British Columbia's Factory Act stated that "The owner of every building used as a factory, shop or office shall provide separate washrooms for male and female employees with separate approaches to them, and signs clearly indicating for which sex the washrooms are provided." [20]
Newfoundland and Labrador's Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2012 state that "where both males and females are employed, separate toilets shall be provided and suitably identified for workers of each sex". [21]
Nova Scotia's Occupational Health and Safety Act requires that an "employer shall make accessible a minimum number of toilets for each gender, determined according to the maximum number of persons of each gender who are normally employed at any one time at the same workplace..." [22]
Prince Edward Island's Occupational Safety and Health Act stipulates that "Where 10 or more persons are employed, the employer shall provide separate washrooms and toilet facilities for each sex with a locking device on the inside." [23]
Saskatchewan's Factories Act of 1909 stipulated that "The owner of every factory shall provide a sufficient number and description of privies, earth or water closets and urinals for the employees of such factory, including separate sets for the use of male and female employees, and shall have separate approaches to the same, the recognised standard being one closet for every twenty-five persons employed in the factor." [24]
The Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation enacted a potty parity measure for restaurants in 1967. The by-law stated that "There shall be provided for employees, toilets separate for each sex and at least one toilet room and one hand washing facility for customers of each sex of any restaurant designed to seat 25 or more customers..." [25]
On 19 February 2012, some Chinese women in Guangzhou protested against the inequitable waiting times. This movement has drifted to Beijing, calling for women's facilities to be proportionally larger to accommodate the longer use times and ameliorate the longer queues of females. Since March 2011, Guangzhou's urban-management commission has ordered that new and newly renovated female public toilets must be 1.5 times the size of their male counterparts. The aforementioned movement is pressing for the regulation to be applied retroactively. [26]
Provisions for separate toilets for women workers are found in Section 19 of the Factories Act, 1948; [27] Section 9 of the Plantations Labour Act, 1951; [28] Section 20 of the Mines Act, 1952; [29] Rule 53 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Rules, 1971; [30] and Rule 42 of the Inter State Migrant Workmen (RECS) Central Rules, 1980. [31]
In 2011 a "Right to Pee" (as called by the media) campaign began in Mumbai, India's largest city. [32] Women, but not men, have to pay to urinate in Mumbai, despite regulations against this practice. Women have also been sexually assaulted while urinating in fields. [32] Thus, activists have collected more than 50,000 signatures supporting their demands that the local government stop charging women to urinate, build more toilets, keep them clean, provide sanitary napkins and a trash can, and hire female attendants. [32] In response, city officials have agreed to build hundreds of public toilets for women in Mumbai, and some local legislators are now promising to build toilets for women in every one of their districts. [32]
South Africa's Standards Act, 1999 requires toilets separate for each sex at factories. [33]
Urination is the release of urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. Urine is released through the urethra and exits the penis or vulva through the urinary meatus in placental mammals, but is released through the cloaca in other vertebrates. It is the urinary system's form of excretion. It is also known medically as micturition, voiding, uresis, or, rarely, emiction, and known colloquially by various names including peeing, weeing, pissing, and euphemistically going number one. The process of urination is under voluntary control in healthy humans and other animals, but may occur as a reflex in infants, some elderly individuals, and those with neurological injury. It is normal for adult humans to urinate up to seven times during the day.
A urinal is a sanitary plumbing fixture for urination only. Urinals are often provided in public toilets for male users in Western countries. They are usually used in a standing position. Urinals can be with manual flushing, automatic flushing, or without flushing, as is the case for waterless urinals. They can be arranged as single sanitary fixtures or in a trough design without privacy walls. Urinals designed for females also exist but are rare. It is possible for females to use stand-up urinals using a female urination device.
Toilets in Japan are sometimes designed more elaborately than toilets commonly seen in other developed nations. European toilets occasionally have a separate bidet whilst Japan combines an electronic bidet with the toilet. The current state of the art for Western-style toilets in Japan is the bidet toilet, which as of March 2016 is installed in 81% of Japanese households. In Japan, these bidets are commonly called washlets, a brand name of Toto Ltd., and they may include many advanced features rarely seen outside of Asia. The basic feature set commonly found on washlets consists of anal hygiene, bidet washing, seat warming, and deodorization.
A public toilet, restroom, public bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils or prisoners and are commonly separated into male and female toilets, although some are unisex, especially for small or single-occupancy public toilets, public toilets are sometimes accessible to people with disabilities. Depending on the culture, there may be varying degrees of separation between males and females and different levels of privacy. Typically, the entire room, or a stall or cubicle containing a toilet, is lockable. Urinals, if present in a male toilet, are typically mounted on a wall with or without a divider between them. Local authorities or commercial businesses may provide public toilet facilities. Some are unattended while others are staffed by an attendant. In many cultures, it is customary to tip the attendant, especially if they provide a specific service, such as might be the case at upscale nightclubs or restaurants.
A chemical toilet collects human excreta in a holding tank and uses chemicals to minimize odors. They do not require a connection to a water supply and are used in a variety of situations. These toilets are usually, but not always, self-contained and movable. A chemical toilet is structured around a relatively small tank, which requires frequent emptying. It is not connected to a hole in the ground, nor to a septic tank, nor is it plumbed into a municipal system leading to a sewage treatment plant. When the tank is emptied, the contents are usually pumped into a sanitary sewer or directly to a treatment plant.
A pay toilet is a public toilet that requires the user to pay. It may be street furniture or be inside a building, e.g. a shopping mall, department store, or railway station. The reason for charging money is usually for the maintenance of the equipment. Paying to use a toilet can be traced back almost 2000 years, to the first century BCE. The charge is often collected by an attendant or by inserting coins into an automatic turnstile; in some freestanding toilets in the street, the fee is inserted into a slot by the door. Mechanical coin operated locks are also used. Some more high tech toilets accept card or contactless payments. Sometimes, a token can be used to enter a pay toilet without paying the charge. Some municipalities offer these tokens to residents with disabilities so these groups aren't discriminated against by the pay toilet. Some establishments such as cafés and restaurants offer tokens to their customers so they can use the toilets for free but other users must pay the relevant charge.
Unisex public toilets are public toilets that are not separated by gender or sex.
A female urination device (FUD), personal urination device (PUD), female urination aid, or stand-to-pee device (STP) is a device that can be used to more precisely aim the stream of urine while urinating standing upright. Variations range from basic disposable funnels to more elaborate reusable designs. Personal urination devices have increased in popularity since the 1990s. They are used for outdoor occupations & recreation, gender affirmation/safety, and medical reasons.
A female urinal is a urinal designed for the female anatomy to allow for ease of use by women and girls. Different models enable urination in standing, semi-squatting, or squatting postures, but usually without direct bodily contact with the toilet. Sitting models also exist, and are designed for body contact with the urinal.
Accessible toilets are toilets that have been specially designed to better accommodate people with physical disabilities. Persons with reduced mobility find them useful, as do those with weak legs, as a higher toilet bowl makes it easier for them to stand up. Additional measures that can be taken to add accessibility to a toilet include providing more space, adding grab bars to ease transfer to and from the toilet seat, and providing extra room for a caregiver if necessary. Some countries have requirements concerning the accessibility of public toilets. Toilets in private homes can be modified (retrofitted) to increase accessibility.
A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human urine and feces, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position popular in Europe and North America with a toilet seat, with additional considerations for those with disabilities, or for a squatting posture more popular in Asia, known as a squat toilet. In urban areas, flush toilets are usually connected to a sewer system; in isolated areas, to a septic tank. The waste is known as blackwater and the combined effluent, including other sources, is sewage. Dry toilets are connected to a pit, removable container, composting chamber, or other storage and treatment device, including urine diversion with a urine-diverting toilet.
In health care, toileting is the act of assisting a dependent patient with their elimination needs.
A urinal, urine bottle, or male urinal is a bottle for urination. It is most frequently used in health care for patients who find it impossible or difficult to get out of bed during sleep. Urinals allow the patient who has cognition and movement of their arms to urinate without the help of staff. A urinal bottle can also be used by travelers or transportation workers who are unable to immediately use a public restroom as part of an emergency kit, or in areas where restroom facilities are too distant.
Pollee is a mobile female urinal, designed by Nuala Collins, Christian Pagh and Sara Nanna and produced by the Danish design bureau UIWE. It is specifically designed to be used at public events such as concerts or music festivals.
A bathroom bill is the common name for legislation or a statute that denies access to public toilets by gender or transgender identity. Bathroom bills affect access to sex-segregated public facilities for an individual based on a determination of their sex as defined in some specific way, such as their sex as assigned at birth, their sex as listed on their birth certificate, or the sex that corresponds to their gender identity. A bathroom bill can either be inclusive or exclusive of transgender individuals, depending on the aforementioned definition of their sex.
Workers' right to access the toilet refers to the rights of employees to take a break when they need to use the toilet. The right to access a toilet is a basic human need. Unless both the employee and employer agree to compensate the employee on rest breaks an employer cannot take away the worker's right to access a toilet facility while working. There is limited information on the rights workers have to access public toilets among the world's legal systems. The law is not clear in New Zealand, United Kingdom, or the United States of America as to the amount of time a worker is entitled to use a toilet while working. Nor is there clarification on what constitutes a 'reasonable' amount of access to a toilet. Consequently, the lack of access to toilet facilities has become a health issue for many workers. Issues around workplace allowance to use a toilet has given light on issues such as workers having to ask permission to use a toilet and some workers having their pay deducted for the mere human right of using a toilet when they need to.
The BABIES Act, or Bathrooms Accessible In Every Situation Act, is a United States federal law that was passed by the United States Congress in September 2016 and signed into law by US President Barack Obama on October 7, 2016. The law requires changing tables in all publicly accessible, federal buildings. In particular, the law received attention for requiring such baby-changing accommodations must be available in both male and female restrooms, ending the practice of providing changing tables only in women's restrooms.
madamePee is a mobile female urinal, without contact and without water supply. It is designed to be used at public events such as concerts or music festivals, but also in more durable situations such as construction sites, public gardens, etc.
The right to sit refers to laws or policies granting workers the right to be granted suitable seating at the workplace. Jurisdictions that have enshrined "right to sit" laws or policies include Japan, Mexico, France, Spain, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Jamaica, South Africa, Eswatini, Cameroon, Tanzania, Uganda, Lesotho, Malaysia, Brazil, Israel, Ireland, Zambia, Guyana, the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, several Canadian provinces and territories, and the British overseas territories of Gibraltar and Montserrat. Almost all states of the United States and Australia, as well as the majority of Canadian provinces, passed right to sit legislation for women workers between 1881 and 1917. US states with current right to sit legislation include California, Florida, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. A right to sit provision is included in the International Labour Organization's Hygiene Convention, 1964; the international treaty being ratified by 52 countries as of 2023. EU-OSHA recommends suitable seating as a best practice. Local jurisdictions with right to sit laws include Portland, Oregon, St. Louis, Missouri, and London's Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Potty parity in the United States refers to laws and policies granting women the right to equitable access to restrooms in public places and workplaces. Spearheaded by women workers, potty parity has long been a pillar of both the feminist movement and the labor movement. Prior to the passage of potty parity legislation, women's restrooms in many workplaces and public places were either absent or insufficient. Despite the passage of legislation, equitable access to public toilets remains a problem for women in the United States. No federal legislation relates to provision of facilities for women; however, Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations stipulate "toilet rooms separate for each sex" unless unisex toilets are provided. States with active potty parity laws include Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nevada, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. Some states, including Alabama, Minnesota, and North Carolina have repealed their laws.
