Yelp Will Help Users Identify Businesses With Gender-Neutral Restrooms

Yelp, the online review site, announced Friday plans to rollout a new feature on their desktop site and on their mobile app that will allow users to identify businesses that have gender-neutral restrooms.

Yelp defines a gender-neutral bathroom as "accessible to persons of any gender and are a locking, single-stall bathroom." The site will be crowd-sourcing information from users and business owners. The app will ask users who check into or review a business if that establishment offers gender-neutral restrooms. Business owners will also have the option to edit their profiles to notify users that their establishment has gender-neutral restrooms. The company is also working on adding a search function that will allow users to search for businesses on Yelp that have gender-neutral restrooms.

Yelp provided an example of what the feature will look like on their app:

Yelp was one of 53 companies who signed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Gavin Grimm's Supreme Court case. Grimm is a transgender boy who is suing his school district over the right to use the bathroom that corresponds with his gender identity. "At Yelp we thrive on inclusion and acceptance, and we hope that our support for Gavin's case and the addition of this new business attribute will help our friends in the LGBTQQIA community," the company wrote in a statement.

Luther Lowe, Yelp's VP of Public Policy, wrote a statement Thursday explaining why the company is supporting Grimm. "Inclusivity isn't just right; it can be good for every business' online reputation and bottom line. Our remarkable community often serves as first responders in identifying discrimination against LGBTQ customers by local businesses. In order to better facilitate such inclusivity, we're proud to announce a new feature which allows businesses and consumers to identify if a business offers a gender-neutral restroom," wrote Lowe.