What is the office toilet situation? Toilet regardless of gender

What is the office toilet situation? Toilet regardless of gender etc. December 12 19:30

The Tokyo District Court approves the use of toilets by gender identity disorder in which a female Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry official complained that it was unfair discrimination that women's toilets were not allowed to be used in the workplace. The government decided to cancel the measure that it was illegal, and ordered the country to compensate about 1.3 million yen.

What happens to the toilet situation in the office? We also covered efforts to create a toilet that everyone can use regardless of gender.

What is the toilet situation of transgender people?

For transgender people, the availability of office toilets with peace of mind is a major problem that may be related to health.

According to experts, many companies are developing “multipurpose toilets” as a consideration for transgender people, but there are also voices that it is difficult to use.

The reason is that people who know their faces in the workplace use toilets in the same area, so if you use only `` multipurpose toilets '', it will stand out, or you will make disabled people and wheelchair colleagues wait It is because I feel anxiety and stress that it may be.

Many of these people suffer from cystitis by putting up with going to the bathroom or keeping them dry.

A major housing equipment manufacturer “LIXIL” and Kanazawa University conducted a survey on the use of toilets in the workplace for about 300 transgender people. About 40% (38.8%) said they could not use the toilet they wanted to use. I answered.

Some of them mentioned that they wanted to use men's toilets, but the company told them to use women's toilets based on their family register.

The survey also found that about 80% (77.9%) of transgender people want to use a shared toilet in a mixed-use room at a convenience store.

Toilet regardless of gender

Efforts to create toilets that are easy for everyone to use regardless of gender have begun.

A major housing equipment manufacturer “LIXIL” has set up a dedicated team in the company to study how to use toilets in response to the diversification of workers and is conducting research jointly with universities.

Last month, the team created a new toilet at the headquarters in Koto Ward, Tokyo. The main feature is that there is only one doorway and it is not separated by gender.

There are men's and women's private rooms in the space, as well as private rooms for men and women.

The single room for both men and women is located in a place facing the wide passage in the center so that the body does not touch when men and women pass each other.

On the other hand, the private rooms for men and women are placed in a place where it is difficult for people to use them to be noticeable on the wall side.

Furthermore, in order to prevent sound leakage, the doors of any private room are made thick so that there is no gap between the top and bottom.

In addition, facilities such as wash basins, storage-type changing tables, and diaper changing tables are not concentrated in a single private room for men and women so that they can be used by people without disabilities without hesitation. It has been devised.

Yuta Ishihara of the LIXIL space planning group, who developed the project, said, “The toilet in the office is very important because it is connected to the work environment and feels stress. "I want to make more improvements by using more people to find out what is easy to use and difficult to use," he says.

The correspondence of universities and companies

Regarding transgender people, there is a widespread movement to accept female students whose genders are male and gender identity in women's universities nationwide, and transgender people work among many companies Efforts are being made to create an easy environment.

Among them, Ochanomizu University in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo and Nara Women's University in Nara City will accept transgender students from the next fiscal year (2020), and Miyagi Gakuin Women's University in Sendai City will accept transgender students from the next fiscal year (fiscal 2021). It is.

In Kashiwanoha Junior High School in Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture, uniforms can be freely selected from “tie or ribbon” and “slack or skirt” to minimize gender differences.

On the other hand, companies are allowed to use toilets and clothes in line with the gender that Nomura Securities has created and approved guidelines for transgender employees. In addition to “Man” and “Woman”, there is a column for “Other”.

In addition, “OMRON” has changed its uniform to a uniform gender design, and “Kirin Holdings” is able to take 60 days of paid leave to receive gender-adapted surgery and hormonal treatment.

Sigma Logistics, a logistics company that actively employs transgender people, listens in advance to the period and time when employees wish to take leave so that employees can take gender-compatible surgery with peace of mind. I have been taking care of my work, and I have a job with less burden on my body after surgery.

In addition, many companies are installing toilets that can be used regardless of gender and conducting training to deepen understanding of transgender people.