The Executive Board has taken this decision upon advice from the Diversity & Inclusivity Office. About 4 per cent of the population does not identify themselves with the traditional gender roles such as male and female, the D&I Office wrote in a memo. Translating this to the UM figures, it comes down to a thousand students and employees. No renovations are needed to create gender-neutral toilets. Those lending themselves to the change will simply be given a new nameplate and logo. In addition, male and female toilets will continue to exist.
The D&I Office hopes that this change, and also the name change of the disabled toilets, will cause less stigmatisation in the use of these spaces. Adding the changing tables fits in the framework of the UM Cares project, which wants to make the university ‘more family-friendly’. The changes will cost more than 6,000 euro and will be financed from the D&I Office budget.