On May 12, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing on the Restroom Gender Parity Act (H. R. 4869), sponsored by Chair Edolphus Towns (D-NY).
The bill would direct federal procurement executives involved with the purchase, acquisition, or major renovation of any facility to increase gender parity by ensuring that the number of toilets in the women’s restrooms equal or exceed the number of toilets (including urinals) in men’s restrooms, or to explain why doing so is unachievable or not feasible. The measure would direct procurement executives involved in leasing buildings to give preference to buildings that meet or exceed the female-to-male toilet (including urinals) ratio.
“The lack of restroom facilities for women has a number of causes,” said Rep. Towns. He continued, “Many public buildings, including universities, airports, theaters, offices, and factories, were built decades ago, before women had entered the workforce in large numbers. Moreover, these buildings were designed and built at a time when contractors, architects, engineers, builders, and government procurement officials, were overwhelmingly male, and rarely considered the needs of women…Throughout history, public restrooms have been the site of institutional discrimination by race, physical ability, and gender. With laws such as the Civil Rights Act [P.L. 88-352] and the Americans with Disabilities Act [P.L. 101-336], we have made great strides in dealing with race and disability discrimination. However, we have not done as well with gender discrimination. Today women still lack equal access to restrooms in many places of employment, education, and recreation. The fact that many federal buildings do not provide as many restroom facilities for women as they do for men is simply unfair. It’s time for that to change.”
Speaking is support of H.R. 4869, Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) said, “[T]hrough your leadership on this issue [Mr. Chairman], we’ve been reminded that the same number of facilities is not the same…access. As members of Congress, we’re periodically invited to the Kennedy Center. Kennedy Center events tend to have equal men and equal women [in attendance]. Anyone who has ever been to a black tie event held at the Kennedy Center is well aware that there is a line for the men’s room, but it pales in comparison to the one that wraps halfway around the building for the ladies’ room. The Kennedy Center enjoys an equal number of facilities for men and women. [However,] equal, in this case, is not equal access. So, I join with the chairman in recognizing that by the time this bill becomes law, it has to create a mandate for equal access, for flexibility in design, so that the buildings of tomorrow and the retrofitted buildings of today recognize that a longer line for one and a shorter line for the other…is inappropriate in our design. Federal buildings should lead in that endeavor.”
Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) said, “As a former New York City council member, I introduced the Women’s Restroom Equity Bill, which created a two-to-one ratio of women’s restrooms to men’s restrooms. My bill became city law in 2005. Previously, New York City had required a one-to-one ratio of women’s restrooms to men’s restrooms. Restroom parity refers to equity of access to public restrooms by all users. Though the issue of inadequate accommodations may be trivial to some, restroom gender parity is an issue that impacts a woman’s health and her quality of life.” Rep. Clarke also discussed the health implications of inadequate restroom facilities for women, saying, “Research underscores the potential health implications for women waiting in long restroom lines. These include abdominal pain, increased risk of…urinary tract infections, [and] bladder infections, all of which can cause renal damage if not adequately treated. Pregnant women and older women suffering from incontinence are particularly impacted due to their need to visit the facilities more frequently than others. To forego using inadequate restroom facilities, women often forego eating and drinking and will often ‘hold it,’ which poses problems. Inadequate restrooms are more like to affect women because they often have small children, may be breastfeeding, have feminine hygiene needs, and usually have to wait in a long line.”
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) discussed his experience enacting restroom gender parity laws in Tennessee, saying, “As this committee considers restroom parity legislation, I would note that it’s useful to keep a degree of flexibility and discretion rather than mandating a set ratio of men’s to women’s restrooms. I learned this from my experience writing Tennessee’s restroom parity laws. The Tennessee Equitable Restrooms Act, which was enacted in 1994, requires any publicly or privately-owned facilities where the public congregates – like sports and entertainment arenas, convention centers, and amusement parks – to be equipped with sufficient restrooms. It also requires that more restrooms be provided for women than men at a ratio to be determined by the state building commission. When the regulations were issued, they called for a ratio of two women’s rooms for every one men’s room, but this strict ratio did not allow for enough flexibility. When the new Adelphia Coliseum, now called LP Field, was built in Nashville for the Tennessee Titans in 1999, we found that the number of men at the games so surpassed the number of women that a two-to-one ratio ended up causing problems for the men. We had to go back and amend the law to convert certain restrooms in that arena for men. If possible, restroom parity laws should allow for adjusting the required ratio depending on the event and the ratio of women to men expected to attend, though I recognize that this may be difficult to administer.”
Dr. Kathryn Anthony, professor at the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, said, “We may laugh, and we may joke, but for millions of people around the world – boys and girls, men and women of all ages, especially pregnant and menstruating women – using the restroom is no laughing matter. Emergencies happen. Accidents happen. Urinary tract infections happen. Delaying voiding can result in serious medical conditions. Unsanitary, unsafe restrooms in our nation’s schools force thousands of children to wait to use their bathroom at home, and ‘holding it in’ can take its toll. Forcing half the population to wait in line for restrooms is a subtle yet powerful form of gender discrimination. Public restrooms are just one of many instances where women and girls are disadvantaged by design, a topic I am writing about in my new book. Even in the US Capitol, until recently, congresswomen and women senators were forced to use restrooms far away from the House and Senate floors, causing some to miss important votes…It is now time for our federal government to act. Today’s proposed legislation is a small but significant step in the right direction, an achievement worth celebrating, one that you can all be proud of. It will have a positive impact on millions of women and children across the USA—and on the men who wait for them.”
Robert Peck, commissioner of the Public Buildings Service at General Services Administration (GSA), testified in support of H.R. 4869 and noted that GSA has published standards for federally owned facilities that have helped improve restroom gender parity. He noted, “Since the early 1980s, our standards have cited the number of toilets, including urinals, required in men’s and women’s restrooms. In most instances, the number of toilets, or water closets, in women’s restrooms equals the number of toilets and urinals in men’s restrooms. In assembly areas, such as training or conference facilities, GSA’s Facilities Standards require more toilets in women’s restrooms than men’s restrooms. Specifically, GSA requires three women’s toilets per every two men’s toilets and/or urinals. The application of the GSA Facilities Standards is mandatory and the provisions of this document are included as design requirements in every GSA contract with design professionals. These provisions apply to all stages of design and construction from project development through construction completion.” With regard to leased facilities, Mr. Peck said, “GSA’s standard Solicitation for Offer (SFO) for leasing requires lessors to provide toilet fixtures based on the ratio of men and women that will occupy the leased space. These requirements allow GSA to continually meet our customers’ changing needs.”
Sharon Pratt, former mayor of Washington, D.C., also testified.
