[Answered] Discuss the challenges faced by women due to inadequate workplace facilities and suggest policy measures to create a more inclusive work environment.

Workplace infrastructure plays a crucial role in determining women’s participation in the workforce. However, the lack of gender-inclusive facilities, especially safe and hygienic washrooms, remains a major barrier.

Challenges Faced by Women Due to Inadequate Workplace Facilities

• Lack of Safe and Hygienic Toilets: Many public and workplace restrooms lack basic amenities such as running water, secure locking systems, and proper lighting, compromising women’s safety, dignity, and health.
• Disproportionate Impact on Marginalized Groups: Transgender individuals face even greater challenges, as they often face discrimination when accessing both men’s and women’s restrooms.
• Restricted Workforce Participation: The absence of gender-inclusive sanitation facilities forces women to leave jobs requiring long working hours outside the home.
• Vulnerability to Harassment: Poorly maintained or absent toilets increase women’s exposure to harassment, as seen in reports from UP police stations and hospitals, where female personnel struggle with inadequate sanitary facilities.
• Health Issues: Holding in urine for long hours due to a lack of safe restrooms leads to urinary tract infections (UTIs) and other health complications, further deterring women from participating in the workforce.

Policy Measures for a More Inclusive Work Environment

• Mandatory Gender-Inclusive Toilets: Governments must enforce strict regulations ensuring that all workplaces, public institutions, and urban spaces provide clean and safe restrooms with secure locking systems, proper lighting, and running water.
• Integration with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6): Sanitation should be recognized as a fundamental right, with targeted policies ensuring equitable access for women, girls, and vulnerable groups. This includes providing sanitary napkin vending machines and disposal systems.
• Improved Urban Planning: City infrastructure should prioritize gender-sensitive sanitation, ensuring that women’s needs are central to planning and funding decisions.
• Workplace and Institutional Mandates: Employers should be required to provide clean, gender-inclusive washrooms with separate facilities for women and trans individuals in offices, factories, and educational institutions.
• Public-Private Partnerships: Collaboration between governments, corporations, and NGOs can help fund and maintain hygiene infrastructure, ensuring long-term sustainability.
• Community Participation and Monitoring: Regular audits, strict monitoring mechanisms, and public feedback systems should be implemented to ensure that facilities remain functional and meet evolving needs.

Conclusion

Ensuring access to gender-inclusive sanitation is a fundamental step toward achieving gender equality, enhancing women’s mobility, and enabling economic empowerment. Decision-makers must recognize that sanitation is not just about convenience but a critical determinant of dignity, safety, and participation in public life.