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Do Women Spend More Time in the Restroom than Men?
Abstract
120 college students were observed entering and exiting a public restroom. A significant sex difference was found (Cohen d = .34).
... Some have claimed that this "creates more visits, longer stays, and higher stakes for creating and managing a mess" for women and menstruants (Molotch and Norén 2010, 5). Several studies have shown that women spend significantly more time in public toilets than men do (Baillie et al. 2009;Molotch and Norén 2010). An additional reason for this may be that women do or are expected to clean toilets (bathrooms) more than men do or are expected to (Linn 1985;Hirdman 2007;Ambjörns son 2018). ...
... However, Linn did not discuss cleaning of menstruation. Thus, exploring menstrual cleaning may provide insight into how that division of labor is maintained, and may further our understanding of why it is that women seem to spend more time than men in public -and perhaps also domestic -bathrooms (Baillie et al. 2009;Molotch and Norén 2010). ...
Why is menstruation so often considered a dirty phenomenon, in both material and symbolic terms? How do ideas and realities of menstrual pollution affect the lived experience of menstruation and everyday hygiene practices? Josefin Persdotter’s study Menstrual Dirt explores how notions and materializations of pollution are enacted in different menstrual practices. It unpacks taken for granted aspects of menstrual life and reveals persistent gendered inequalities in relation to menstruation.
... Her decision was motivated by the long queue for the women' what this usually means is that men receive many more facilities: although men's restrooms may have fewer stalls than women's, they manage to fit in more urinals (less wall-space and surface) and thus have more access opportunities. Moreover, research suggests that women take longer to use the restroom ( Baillie et al., 2009) and they do so more often. All of these differences compound into creating waiting time inequality in public venues. ...
... There is very little evidence on the average time people spend in the restroom, although there is ample anecdotal evidence of employers complaining about employees taking 'too many' restroom breaks and women 'taking longer'. For the purposes of this model we assume the results of Baillie et al. (2009). They tracked 120 college students using public restrooms in a library and found that women take on average 178.9 sec. ...
This thesis addresses several questions regarding what rational agents ought to believe and how they ought to act. In the first part I begin by discussing how scientists contemplating several mutually exclusive theories, models or hypotheses can reach a rational decision regarding which one to endorse. In response to a recent argument that they cannot, I employ the tools of social choice theory to offer a ‘possibility result’ for rational theory choice. Then I utilize the tools of judgment aggregation to investigate how scientists from across fields can pool their expertise together. I identify an impossibility result threatening such a procedure and prove a possibility result which requires that some scientists sometimes waive their expertise over some propositions. In the second part I first discuss the existing justifications for a restricted principle of indifference that mandates that two agents whose experiences are subjectively indistinguishable should be indifferent with respect to their identities. I argue that all existing justifications rely on the same mistaken reasoning behind the ‘staying’ strategy in the Monty Hall problem. Secondly, I show this mistake is more widespread and I identify it in arguments purporting to show the failure of two reflection-like principles. In the third part I look at a recent argument that fair policy makers face a dilemma when trying to correct a biased distributive process. I show the dilemma only holds if the correction has to happen in one-shot. Finally, I look at how we ought to design public restrooms so that we reduce the discrimination faced by minority groups. I make the case for opening our public restrooms to all genders.
... While women felt welcomed at Masjid Al-Irsyad, they thought the restrooms and ablution area were inadequate, mainly when many visitors were present. Studies have found that women need more extended time in the restrooms compared to men [34]. To gain equality in public restrooms, Western architects and scholars often recommend unisex restrooms, which can be used alternately by women and men [35]. ...
Despite their non-mandatory attendance in the mosques, women have been significant users of mosques in Indonesia. They organize community programs, attend daily prayers, and participate in Islamic learning sessions (kajian). Masjid Al-Irsyad (built in 2009) in Kota Baru Parahyangan, Indonesia, is a popular venue for the kajian among women in the surrounding area. This article examines the design of Masjid Al-Irsyad, its flexible uses as a social space, the design based on gender analysis aspects, women’s preference for space, and the social interactions fostered and hampered by the spatial layout. Based on using data withdrawn from a survey of female mosque users and observations, this article finds that the open plan allows flexible use of space, which better accommodates women’s need for space in the mosque and encourages women’s active participation, and a more equal yet remains “Islamic” interaction in the mosque as an Islamic community center. It also blurs the gendered spatial boundary and hierarchy. The space of Masjid Al-Irsyad is a socio-spatial assemblage that opens a broader opportunity for equal gender relations in the mosque. However, the open plan also reduces women’s privacy, an essential spatial aspect.
... Research indicates that women spend more time in ablution facilities than men do. In a study conducted by Baillie, Fraser and Brown (2009), it was found that women (M = 178.9 sec., SD = 96.6) ...
International treaties, national legislation and local by-laws all advocate the equal treatment of men and women, but claims of gender-based discrimination continue. Indicators of discrimination against women, including employment ratios and differences in income, show that there have been considerable gains in the recent past. These measures are, however, often biased. In this study a different, specific and concrete method of describing and detecting discrimination is presented, namely the difference in the number of ablution facilities provided for each gender group in public spaces. Ablution facilities at airports, train stations and shopping centres in four major South African cities (N=128) were inspected. Medium to large differences in the respective number of facilities were found (eta2 .05 to .13), with women receiving fewer service facilities than men. These results suggest that, despite progressive legislation and vigorous affirmative action in South Africa, local women are still being discriminated against on a very concrete, visible level. The effectiveness of the measurement tool is also discussed.
... Although there is a potential risk of aerosolisation of bacteria and viruses through toilet flushing, vomiting, and the use of electric hand dryers, we found no evidence of airborne transmission of enteric or respiratory pathogens, including COVID-19, in public washrooms. This may be for a number of reasons: (a) toilet flushing would mainly generate a plume of aerosols from the user's own faeces (if a pathogen was present, that person would already be infected); (b) good adherence to handwashing which reduces the risk of pathogen transmission; (c) the limited exposure time (typically only a few minutes (Baillie et al., 2009)) in a washroom environment; and (d) the relatively small number of concurrent users and limited close face-to-face interaction. ...
Background
The risk of infectious disease transmission in public washrooms causes concern particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This systematic review aims to assess the risk of transmission of viral or bacterial infections through inhalation, surface contact, and faecal-oral routes in public washrooms in healthcare and non-healthcare environments.
Methods
We systematically reviewed environmental sampling, laboratory, and epidemiological studies on viral and bacterial infection transmission in washrooms using PubMed and Scopus. The review focused on indoor, publicly accessible washrooms.
Results
Thirty-eight studies from 13 countries were identified, including 14 studies carried out in healthcare settings, 10 in laboratories or experimental chambers, and 14 studies in restaurants, workplaces, commercial and academic environments. Thirty-three studies involved surface sampling, 15 air sampling, 8 water sampling, and 5 studies were risk assessments or outbreak investigations. Infectious disease transmission was studied in relation with: (a) toilets with flushing mechanisms; (b) hand drying systems; and (c) water taps, sinks and drains. A wide range of enteric, skin and soil bacteria and enteric and respiratory viruses were identified in public washrooms, potentially posing a risk of infection transmission. Studies on COVID-19 transmission only examined washroom contamination in healthcare settings.
Conclusion
Open-lid toilet flushing, ineffective handwashing or hand drying, substandard or infrequent surface cleaning, blocked drains, and uncovered rubbish bins can result in widespread bacterial and/or viral contamination in washrooms. However, only a few cases of infectious diseases mostly related to faecal-oral transmission originating from washrooms in restaurants were reported. Although there is a risk of microbial aerosolisation from toilet flushing and the use of hand drying systems, we found no evidence of airborne transmission of enteric or respiratory pathogens, including COVID-19, in public washrooms. Appropriate hand hygiene, surface cleaning and disinfection, and washroom maintenance and ventilation are likely to minimise the risk of infectious disease transmission.
... If the washbasin is used by a SARS-CoV-2 infected individual, the washbasin is highly likely to be contaminated with SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, women generally spend more time in the bathroom or kitchen than men (Marston, 1999;Baillie et al., 2009), which may explain why 33% more women were infected in the first 10 vertical COVID-19 outbreaks in Hong Kong. Note that these vertical outbreaks have only been observed in Guangdong and Hong Kong, but not elsewhere. ...
Stack aerosols are generated within vertical building drainage stacks during the discharge of wastewater containing feces and exhaled mucus from toilets and washbasins. Fifteen stack aerosol-related outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in high-rise buildings have been observed in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Currently, we investigated two such outbreaks of COVID-19 in Hong Kong, identified the probable role of chimney effect-induced airflow in a building drainage system in the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We injected tracer gas (SF6) into the drainage stacks via the water closet of the index case and monitored tracer gas concentrations in the bathrooms and along the facades of infected and non-infected flats and in roof vents. The air temperature, humidity, and pressure in vertical stacks were also monitored. The measured tracer gas distribution agreed with the observed distribution of the infected cases. Phylogenetic analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences demonstrated clonal spread from a point source in cases along the same vertical column. The stack air pressure and temperature distributions suggested that stack aerosols can spread to indoors through pipe leaks which provide direct evidence for the long-range aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through drainage pipes via the chimney effect.
... Although there is a potential risk of aerosolisation of bacteria and viruses through toilet flushing, vomiting, and the use of electric hand dryers, we found no evidence of airborne transmission of enteric or respiratory pathogens, including COVID-19, in public washrooms. This may be for a number of reasons: (a) toilet flushing would mainly generate a plume of aerosols from the user's own faeces (if a pathogen was present, that person would already be infected); (b) good adherence to handwashing which reduces the risk of pathogen transmission; (c) the limited exposure time (typically only a few minutes (Baillie et al., 2009)) in a washroom environment; and (d) the relatively small number of concurrent users and limited close face-to-face interaction. ...
... The small empirical literature on bathroom usage (e.g., Kyra, 1976;Rawls, 1988;Anthony & Dufresne, 2007) offers widely diverging estimates. In this paper, we will follow the most recent study by Baillie (2009), who tracked 120 college students using public bathrooms in a library and found that women take on average 178.9 seconds while men take 118.4 seconds. We round these values to three minutes for women and two minutes for men. ...
Gender-neutral bathrooms are usually framed as an accommodation for trans and other gender-nonconforming individuals. In this paper, we show that the benefits of gender-neutral bathrooms are much broader. First, our simulations show that gender-neutral bathrooms reduce average waiting times: while waiting times for women go down invariably, waiting times for men either go down or slightly increase depending on usage intensity, occupancy-time differentials and the presence of urinals. Second, our result can be turned on its head: firms have an opportunity to reduce the number of facilities and cut costs by making them all gender-neutral without increasing waiting times. These observations can be used to reframe the gender-neutral bathrooms debate so that they appeal to a larger constituency, cutting across the usual dividing lines in the ‘bathroom wars’. Finally, there are improved designs and behavioural strategies that can help overcome resistance. We explore what strategies can be invoked to mitigate the objections that gender-neutral bathrooms (1) are unsafe, (2) elicit discomfort and (3) are unhygienic.
... In single duration measurement, the external observer measures the duration of a single event, i.e. the observer only records the subjects' time spent in the bathroom [43] or the time required to walk 50 feet [44]. Zheng et al. differentiated this group from the rest of continuous observation methods, excluding it from his review and referring to it as ''efficiency studies on isolated events, such as workaround times''. ...
Time motion studies were first described in the early 20(th) century in industrial engineering, referring to a quantitative data collection method where an external observer captured detailed data on the duration and movements required to accomplish a specific task, coupled with an analysis focused on improving efficiency. Since then, they have been broadly adopted by biomedical researchers and have become a focus of attention due to the current interest in clinical workflow related factors. However, attempts to aggregate results from these studies have been difficult, resulting from a significant variability in the implementation and reporting of methods. While efforts have been made to standardize the reporting of such data and findings, a lack of common understanding on what "time motion studies" are remains, which not only hinders reviews, but could also partially explain the methodological variability in the domain literature (duration of the observations, number of tasks, multitasking, training rigor and reliability assessments) caused by an attempt to cluster dissimilar sub-techniques. A crucial milestone towards the standardization and validation of time motion studies corresponds to a common understanding, accompanied by a proper recognition of the distinct techniques it encompasses. Towards this goal, we conducted a review of the literature aiming at identifying what is being referred to as "time motion studies". We provide a detailed description of the distinct methods used in articles referenced or classified as "time motion studies", and conclude that currently it is used not only to define the original technique, but also to describe a broad spectrum of studies whose only common factor is the capture and/or analysis of the duration of one or more events. To maintain alignment with the existing broad scope of the term, we propose a disambiguation approach by preserving the expanded conception, while recommending the use of a specific qualifier "continuous observation time motion studies" to refer to variations of the original method (the use of an external observer recording data continuously). In addition, we present a more granular naming for sub-techniques within continuous observation time motion studies, expecting to reduce the methodological variability within each sub-technique and facilitate future results aggregation.
Background: Flushing a toilet generates aerosols potentially containing microorganisms, serving as a transmission route for pathogens, notably gastrointestinal and respiratory infections. Despite identification of aerosols and positive microbial sampling, there is a lack of quantitative assessments linking aerosol generation to infection risk in toilet settings.
Methods: We develop a framework to evaluate the infection risk to a second susceptible individual using a shared toilet following faecal shedding and flush aerosolisation by an infected individual. Experimental measurements of particle concentrations from a toilet flush in a controlled chamber are combined with a model using Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) methods. We demonstrate the approach for SARS-CoV-2 and norovirus, examining model sensitivity and how adding cubicle space and varying occupancy times affect risk.
Results: The model suggests non-negligible infection risk from the toilet plume, particularly for pathogens with higher concentrations in faeces. The model suggests norovirus could have a 2 times greater maximum infection risk than SARS-CoV-2. Mean and median risks for all scenarios decreased when the second individual entered 60 s post-flush compared to 0 s. Occupancy times had less impact on risk compared to the timing of entry post-flush.
Conclusion: To mitigate infection risk from shared toilets, ventilating the room before entering is crucial. Allowing time between toilet usages may be more effective compared to reducing occupancy times. Models provide valuable insights into relative impacts of measures and comparison between pathogens, but improved quantitative data is needed, particularly in higher risk scenarios (e.g. hospitals, public events), to quantify absolute risks.
Falls are the major cause of injuries and death of elders who live alone at home. Various research works have provided the best solution to the fall detection approach during day vision. However, fall occurs more at the night due to many factors such as low or zero lighting conditions, intake of medication/ drugs, frequent urination due to nocturia disease, and slippery restroom. Based on the required factors, an autonomous monitoring system based on night condition has been proposed through retro-reflective stickers pasted on their upper cloth and infrared cameras installed in the living environment of elders. The developed system uses features such as changes in orientation angle and distance between the retro-reflective stickers to identify the human shape and its characteristics for fall identification. Experimental analysis has also been performed on various events of fall and non-fall activities during the night exclusively in the living environment of the elder, and the system achieves an accuracy of 96.2% and fall detection rate of 92.9%.
Our built environment is required to meet human needs at the most basic of levels. If our pavements and roads aff ord our movement across the built environment's landscapes, then provisions should also be in place to meet the needs of the body in motion. This paper will take a historical perspective of the introduction and design of public toilets to illustrate how certain spaces in the city were defi ned by the bodies that toilet provision served. It will show how biological functions such as menstruation are not being met by public toilet design and infrastructure, and how overall provision is inadequate for women for both biological and social factors. Public toilets refl ect and reinforce a binary gender society, resulting in some users being excluded or their rights to access challenged by others. A new chapter is currently being writt en regarding the needs of transgender people, raising questions around existing design diff erences between men's and women's toilets and the very notion of segregating public toilets by gender, evident through the growing numbers of 'gender-neutral toilets'. However, these changes to public toilet design and provision are emerging without expert guidance and with a lack of research into how this might positively or negatively impact diff erent groups. Designers, architects and planners are facing a series of interesting challenges when considering how new and existing UK provision can be inclusive of a diversity of bodies and their rights to access without excluding those socially and culturally dependent on a gender-segregated space.
International treaties, national legislation and local by-laws all advocate the equal treatment of men and women, but claims of gender-based discrimination continue. Indicators of discrimination against women, including employment ratios and differences in income, show that there have been considerable gains in the recent past. These measures are, however, often biased. In this study a different, specific and concrete method of describing and detecting discrimination is presented, namely the difference in the number of ablution facilities provided for each gender group in public spaces. Ablution facilities at airports, train stations and shopping centres in four major South African cities (N=128) were inspected. Medium to large differences in the respective number of facilities were found (eta 2 .05 to .13), with women receiving fewer service facilities than men. These results suggest that, despite progressive legislation and vigorous affirmative action in South Africa, local women are still being discriminated against on a very concrete, visible level. The effectiveness of the measurement tool is also discussed.
Handwashing after using the restroom is generally poor across the population, and one common method used to increase the frequency of handwashing is to place signs reminding individuals to wash their hands. The current study examined the association between the absence and presence of signs reminding one to wash their hands and handwashing in public restrooms. Signs prompting handwashing behavior remind restroom patrons of acceptable behavior, and the presence of these signs is hypothesized to be associated with an increase in handwashing. Observation of 175 individuals (95 women and 80 men) using public restrooms on a university campus indicated that 61% of the women and 37% of the men observed washed their hands, e.g., washing hands with soap, in the absence of the sign, and 97% of the women and 35% of the men observed washed their hands in the presence of the sign. Further, 53% of the men and 38% of the women observed rinsed their hands, e.g., washing hands without soap, in the absence of the sign, and 55% of the men and 2% of the women observed rinsed their hands in the presence of the sign. Results are discussed in terms of possible factors associated with sex differences in handwashing and the absence and presence of visual prompts for handwashing behavior.
Stereotyping effects are typically considered to be assimilative in nature: A member of a group stereotyped as having some attribute is judged to have more of that attribute than a member of some comparison group. This article highlights the fact that stereotyping effects can also occur in the direction of contrast--or even null effects-- depending on the nature and form of the outcome being assessed (from the researcher's perspective, the dependent variable of interest). Relying on theory and research from the shifting standards model (M. Biernat, M. Manis, & T. F. Nelson, 1991), this review highlights the different ways in which and the factors that determine how stereotypes influence judgment and behavior toward individual group members.
The differences model, which argues that males and females are vastly different psychologically, dominates the popular media. Here, the author advances a very different view, the gender similarities hypothesis, which holds that males and females are similar on most, but not all, psychological variables. Results from a review of 46 meta-analyses support the gender similarities hypothesis. Gender differences can vary substantially in magnitude at different ages and depend on the context in which measurement occurs. Overinflated claims of gender differences carry substantial costs in areas such as the workplace and relationships.
Handwashing after using the restroom is generally poor across the population, and one common method used to increase the frequency of handwashing is to place signs reminding individuals to wash their hands. The current study examined the association between the absence and presence of signs reminding one to wash their hands and handwashing in public restrooms. Signs prompting handwashing behavior remind restroom patrons of acceptable behavior, and the presence of these signs is hypothesized to be associated with an increase in handwashing. Observation of 175 individuals (95 women and 80 men) using public restrooms on a university campus indicated that 61% of the women and 37% of the men observed washed their hands, e.g., washing hands with soap, in the absence of the sign, and 97% of the women and 35% of the men observed washed their hands in the presence of the sign. Further, 53% of the men and 38% of the women observed rinsed their hands, e.g., washing hands without soap, in the absence of the sign, and 55% of the men and 2% of the women observed rinsed their hands in the presence of the sign. Results are discussed in terms of possible factors associated with sex differences in handwashing and the absence and presence of visual prompts for handwashing behavior.