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Potty parity
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Potty parity
Potty parity is equal or equitable provision of public toilet facilities for females and males within a public space. Parity can be defined by equal floorspace or by number of fixtures within the washrooms, sometimes adjusted for the longer average time taken and more frequent visits to the washroom for females, among other factors.
Historically, public toilets have been divided by sex since the Victorian era. Male cubicles and facilities were typically greater in number until the late 1980s and early 2010s, depending on the country and building. Current ratios range from 1:1 to 4:1 female–to–male.
Portable, accessible, and vehicle toilets are commonly gender-neutral. Outside of these contexts, they are present in some European areas and university campuses in the US. Multiple studies have found that waiting times for females can be reduced by the use of properly designed washrooms.
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.
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.
Women and girls often spend more time in washrooms than men and boys, for both physiological and cultural reasons. The requirement to use a cubicle rather than a urinal means urination takes longer and hand washing must be done more thoroughly. Females also make more visits to washrooms. Urinary tract infections and incontinence are more common in females. Pregnancy, menstruation, breastfeeding, and diaper-changing increase usage. 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.
John F. Banzhaf III, a law professor at George Washington University, calls himself the "father of potty parity." 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. 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.
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Potty parity
Potty parity is equal or equitable provision of public toilet facilities for females and males within a public space. Parity can be defined by equal floorspace or by number of fixtures within the washrooms, sometimes adjusted for the longer average time taken and more frequent visits to the washroom for females, among other factors.
Historically, public toilets have been divided by sex since the Victorian era. Male cubicles and facilities were typically greater in number until the late 1980s and early 2010s, depending on the country and building. Current ratios range from 1:1 to 4:1 female–to–male.
Portable, accessible, and vehicle toilets are commonly gender-neutral. Outside of these contexts, they are present in some European areas and university campuses in the US. Multiple studies have found that waiting times for females can be reduced by the use of properly designed washrooms.
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.
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.
Women and girls often spend more time in washrooms than men and boys, for both physiological and cultural reasons. The requirement to use a cubicle rather than a urinal means urination takes longer and hand washing must be done more thoroughly. Females also make more visits to washrooms. Urinary tract infections and incontinence are more common in females. Pregnancy, menstruation, breastfeeding, and diaper-changing increase usage. 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.
John F. Banzhaf III, a law professor at George Washington University, calls himself the "father of potty parity." 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. 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.
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