Othering & Belonging Institute

This policy brief reviews literature on the challenges transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals face in overcoming discrimination and harassment, with particular focus on the role of conditioning restroom access as a key site of social exclusion. Legal challenges to the regressive restroom policy argue that some solutions—such as mandating transgender individuals use a separate single-user facility—do little to address the indignities of unequal access. The brief outlines solutions to address the problem, focusing especially on data collection of gender identity and access needs, as well as strategies in the designing and planning of gender inclusive, rather than gender neutral, bathroom facilities. These strategies will allow policymakers to enable restroom inclusion while addressing concerns about safety, especially focusing on the need to recognize the intersectional needs and concerns bathrooms hold in society.