Looking for a business or restaurant with a gender neutral bathroom? Time to open the Yelp app

Bathrooms aren't usually topics of news stories around here, unless there is a story related to an app that can help you find a seat in a pinch. And that is sort of what we have for you today. Let's say that you are the type of person who likes to do his or her business privately, you might want to find a business or a restaurant that offers a gender-neutral bathroom. These are single stall bathrooms that lock from the inside and are available for both men and women.

But these days, such bathrooms are also in demand from transgender individuals who are being harassed if they use the bathroom that they feel comfortable with. By opting for a gender neutral rest room, transgender men or women can do their business without having to hear that they are using the wrong bathroom. But that means having to find restaurants and businesses that offer such an amenity.

So where can you  find this information? How about Yelp. Since Yelp relies on crowdsourced information, it is asking those who send in reviews of businesses or eateries to include in their reviews whether or not a location includes a gender neutral bathroom. And owners of businesses with listings on Yelp are being asked to edit them to indicate whether or not there is such a bathroom on their premises.

Yelp also was one of 52 tech companies that just filed an Amicus Curiae (or "friend of the court") brief supporting Gavin Grimm. Grimm is a transgender male who is being denied the use of the Boy's room in his school by the school board. Rachel Williams, Yelp’s head of diversity and inclusion, says that the decision to post locations of gender neutral bathrooms came from the recent changes in policy made by the Trump administration, which has removed federal protection for transgender students. Williams says that people in the company are getting upset with what is taking place in the country, and dropped other projects to get this new feature up and running in just two days.


source: TechCrunch