Questions people ask on toilet equity

Across the world, people have very different experiences when using public toilets.

For women and girls in low-income countries, public restrooms are often insufficient and inadequate, leading to long queues that can expose them to abuse and attack and put their health at risk.

The amount and design of public toilet provision can also fail to properly serve older people, people with children, people with disabilities, transgender people and many other groups.

As governments strive to meet SDG 6 – safe water and toilets for all by 2030 – we must ensure that not only are there enough toilets for everyone, but that they meet the full range of requirements from society.

This is the concept of ‘toilet equity’. Here we answer some of the questions people ask us.

What is ‘toilet equity’?

‘Toilet equity’ (also known as ‘potty parity’) is about the equitable provision of public toilet facilities, with the goal of meeting everyone’s needs safely and privately, while reducing waiting times.

The most visible sign of the inadequacy of public restrooms is long queues for women’s toilets.

The main reason is that there are often more toilets for men and boys in public spaces than for women and girls, but the problems go far beyond quantity.

Why are women’s toilet queues so long?

There are stereotypes around what women do in toilets. In 2023, UN-Water asked people on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and X why they thought women’s toilet queues were often longer than men’s. These are some of the answers:

“Women like to relax on the toilet.”

“Women need to adjust their clothes.”

“Women need to get half-undressed to pee.”

“Women take more time to wash up.”

“Women like to clean the toilet seat first.”

Here are five real reasons why women and girls often queue for public toilets for a long time:

1. Women need to manage their menstrual hygiene in public toilets.

2. Peeing is usually slower for women because they do it sitting down or squatting, and there are much fewer cubicles compared to men’s urinals.

3. Women’s toilets are sometimes grouped together with facilities for people with disabilities, causing a bottleneck and slowing both groups down.

4. Baby changing tables and feeding areas are often in women’s toilets, not men’s.

5. Older people are disproportionately women and often need more frequent bathroom breaks.

In low-income countries, some women face the added challenge of having to walk long distances to access public toilet facilities. This can put them at risk of potential harassment or sexual assault during these journeys.

What needs to happen to achieve toilet equity?

Standard allocations of equal floor space for women's and men's public restrooms does not adequately account for the differences in people’s needs.

Queuing for and being poorly served by public toilets impinge on the human right to sanitation and create more obstacles to a truly equal society.

Governments must require policymakers, architects and builders to adapt and redesign public restrooms to achieve toilet equity. Women's participation in the planning process is key to success.

To achieve toilet equity, we need:

• More cubicles in women’s toilets.

• More sanitary product waste disposal options and hygiene facilities in women’s toilets.

• More toilets for people with disabilities.

• More child-changing/feeding facilities in all toilets, including separate ‘family rooms’.

• More gender-neutral bathrooms with separate rooms for urinals.

Watch this short animation (2 mins) from WaterAid on female-friendly toilets.