Understanding Restroom Inequality

Paige Rosson starts out her talk on gender bias by asking her audience if any of them have ever entered a public washroom with the expectation of having to provide their own toilet paper. Of course, the answer is no. She continues by showing how this is the reality for menstruating women however, as feminine hygiene products are expected to be brought from home, or payed for from dispensers -- which are often out of stock or broken.

By exposing this inequality, Rosson argues that feminine hygiene products should be free and widely available in all public restrooms. She goes on to explain how difficult it can be for some women to prepare for their periods, and the resulting struggle that takes place if it occurs when they didn't happen to pack feminine hygiene products with them.

Throughout her talk on gender bias, Rosson shows that the stigma surrounding mensuration needs to be crushed so that it can be talked about freely. In addition, she prompts her audience to get active when it comes for fighting for equality when it comes to public restrooms. She's done so by creating a club called Free the Toiletry, which fights to get pads and tampons to those who need them, as well as to abolish tax on feminine hygiene products.