All-Gender Multi-Stall Washrooms: A Solution for Everyone, Not Just Trans People!

This isn’t about removing men’s and women’s washrooms. It’s about adding choice.

All-gender washrooms are often talked about like they’re only for trans and non-binary people. But look a little closer, and you’ll see they solve a whole host of everyday problems most people don’t even notice. A parent managing young children, unsure which door to choose. A caregiver supporting someone they love. A disabled person scanning a layout that wasn’t built with their needs in mind. Or anyone who’s ever hesitated outside a washroom, wondering if they’ll be welcome once they walk in.

When these spaces are designed with care - with fully enclosed stalls, open entrances and semi-private grooming areas, they tend to just… work. They remove the pressure, the pause and the need to calculate. And while the concept might feel unfamiliar at first, all-gender multi-stall washrooms offer something simple and lasting: comfort, safety and a little more room to be yourself.

Not everyone fits easily into “men” and “women”

For many trans and non-binary people, gendered washrooms can feel like a no-win situation. Non-binary folks are often asked to make an impossible choice between two doors that don’t reflect who they are - something that might seem minor from the outside, but can feel deeply disorienting inside. And for trans men, trans women and non-binary people alike, the risks go beyond discomfort: stares, intrusive questions, harassment and even violence are a daily reality, just for walking into a space most people barely think about.

It’s no surprise that many avoid public washrooms altogether. In a survey of more than 27,000 trans people, 59% said they’d done just that, but the consequences go far deeper. Nearly a third - 32% - said they had limited how much they ate or drank to avoid needing a washroom, and 8% reported developing urinary tract or kidney infections as a direct result of that avoidance.

And this isn’t just a trans issue. We live in a world with very fixed ideas about what men and women are supposed to look like, and when someone doesn’t match that expectation, they’re often challenged or excluded. Even cisgender people can get caught in the crossfire, with several cisgender women making headlines after being verbally assaulted or ordered to leave women’s washrooms for no reason other than how they looked. 

All-gender washrooms shift the frame entirely. Instead of asking people to prove who they are, they create space for everyone to meet a basic need without fear, second-guessing or scrutiny. They remove the judgement from the equation - and that benefits us all.

More Efficient, More Equitable

We’ve all witnessed a long, slow-moving line outside the women’s washroom, while the men’s remains mostly empty. It’s frustrating for those waiting… and completely avoidable. All-gender washrooms make much better use of the space by allowing everyone to use the next available stall, meaning wait times are shorter, crowding is reduced and people move through the space more efficiently. Nobody enjoys standing in line while an entire room of empty stalls sits unused next door, and all-gender multi-stall washrooms make sure that the space works for everyone!

More Accessibility Options

When thoughtfully designed, all-gender multi-stall washrooms can serve so many members of our community, offering a more inclusive and accessible alternative to traditional setups. These spaces have the potential to meet a much wider range of needs - especially for disabled people, who are too often left navigating built environments that don’t consider their realities. In a survey of 6,500 disabled people, 73% said they had encountered an “accessible” washroom they couldn’t actually use. These kinds of experiences have left many disabled people facing significant barriers, with 77% saying they had avoided going somewhere because they couldn’t find reliable information about accessible washrooms. By incorporating a mix of stall sizes and features including adult change tables, all-gender multi-stall washrooms can help reduce these barriers - offering a space that feels usable, dignified and safe.

These kinds of washrooms can also ease everyday routines for people who are supported by a caregiver of a different gender, and for parents navigating the common dilemma: do they bring a child of a different gender into their own washroom, or send them in alone? Neither option feels quite right - but all-gender washrooms offer a third, safer path. Additionally, in many public spaces, features like changing tables are still only found in women’s washrooms - leaving some men without a practical option. As a result, many are forced to improvise or even change their baby on the floor. Ultimately, it highlights a significant gap in how our facilities support everyone’s basic needs with dignity and care, and everyone deserves better than that.

Reframing Safety

Concerns about safety often come up in conversations about all-gender multi-stall washrooms, but many of these fears are rooted in the mistaken belief that being around people of the same gender is inherently safer. This assumption can lead people to make quick judgments about who “belongs” in a washroom based on appearance rather than behaviour, which puts many people at risk of being excluded or treated with suspicion when not warranted.

In reality, gender reveals very little about a person’s behaviour or intentions. When we use appearance as a stand-in for safety, we reinforce harmful stereotypes in which people who pose no threat may be harassed or removed, while those who do cause harm may go unnoticed simply because they “look the part.” This mindset also ignores a key fact: violence or harassment can be committed by anyone, regardless of gender (Egale, 2025; Stemple, Flores, & Meyer, 2016).

A more effective approach is to focus on how people behave. Someone quietly using a stall is not a threat, while inappropriate behaviour - regardless of the person’s gender - is. Shifting our attention from assumptions to actions creates spaces that are not only safer, but also more respectful and inclusive; when people of all genders share a space, it can also foster a sense of natural accountability and collective care - conditions that contribute to the kind of everyday safety we all deserve.

All-gender multi-stall washrooms reflect the world as it is: diverse, practical and shared. They offer real solutions - for trans and non-binary people, for disabled folks, for parents, caregivers and yes, even for people who just don’t want to wait in a long line. Importantly, advocating for all-gender washrooms doesn’t mean replacing every existing gendered facility. What we support is offering more choice - adding inclusive, thoughtfully designed options alongside women’s and men’s washrooms so that people can use the space that best meets their needs.

Want to see what this looks like on the ground? Check out this walkthrough of Clayton Community Centre designed by hcma architecture.

And if you want to go deeper on safety, download our free resource: Rethinking Washroom Safety.

If you’re interested in the design of all-gender, multi-stall washrooms, check out hcma’s resource Designing for Inclusivity.