You’ve just started a new field position. Excited, you step on the boat and head out for a full day of sampling. You look around the small boat and suddenly it hits you: where will you pee?? You realize that you are the only woman on the boat. Do you ask the men? If you raise the question, will it make you look like you don’t know what you are doing? Will your supervisor grumble if you ask everyone to stop for a bathroom break? Stressed, you glance at your water bottle: maybe you’ll just not drink today and avoid the issue altogether.   

Though dehydration is a clear safety concern on the water, women will often purposefully avoid drinking because they don’t have a clear way to use the bathroom in the field. It can be hard to know what to do, especially when you are new to the field. And I’ve spoken with multiple men who have noticed this in women in their crew, but aren’t sure what to do about it. Bathroom conversations may feel hard to navigate, but they don’t need to be uncomfortable! We reached out to our fellow Women of Fisheries, and here is their advice: 

——

Overwhelmingly, the most common advice for supervisors was to have an open conversation with everyone at the start. Develop a clear, designated routine, and explain it at the start of the field day. Don’t single out the women, but have this discussion with your entire crew; after all, men need to pee too (and can also be shy about it or unsure of expectations), and having a protocol in place is good for everyone across genders!  

What your routine or guideline looks like depends on your situation. Providing a bucket, in particular with a seat on it, can be a great option. (Pro tip from the Women of Fisheries: adding some water to the bucket helps quiet the acoustics). You may develop a protocol where crew announce when they need to go, and everyone else turns away or heads to the front of the boat; this works for buckets as well as times when crew may just hang off the back. You may create designated bathroom breaks for everyone, where you head to shore or facilities (or if the water is warm enough, everyone jumps in).

Whatever your protocol, being clear about it to all at the start is key. Again, this need not be a big deal; a simple “good morning all, here’s the pee bucket, here’s a great spot to use it, everyone let us know when you need to use it and the rest of us will move to the front” or “let me know when anyone needs a bathroom break and we’ll stop off at shore” goes a long way. And give a heads up before you go about bathroom facilities; e.g., let everyone know before you go if there will or won’t be bathroom facilities on this trip or at this field site so they can know what to expect. 

——-

It’s possible that your field situation necessitates more complex bathroom procedures (for example, if you are all wearing a lot of cold weather gear or if you are in a densely populated area with no facilities). You might feel unsure of what may make a good protocol for your crew. It may be helpful in some cases to start a field season or trip planning with an open conversation about facilities. For example, you could start by stating that you want everyone to feel comfortable in the field, that you recognize that people have different restroom needs when it comes to fieldwork, and to let you know what they need to be comfortable. 

There are also a few things the Women of Fisheries recommend you avoid doing. For example, don’t make jokes about looking around while a crew member is peeing (or allow anyone else to). If you are on lookout, don’t make jokes about another boat or person coming, or that you see something circling in the water. Don’t act like someone’s need to pee, frequency with which they need to pee, or the amount of time they take to pee is a burden or grumble about bathroom breaks. Similarly, don’t make remarks or observations about how much anyone pees; people have different physiologies, some urinate more than others, and it can feel super weird to feel like someone is monitoring your bodily functions. 

——

Again, overwhelmingly, the women we heard from feel most comfortable when bathroom plans are simply brought up and talked about in a straightforward way from the start. When supervisors make the plan clear in a way that shows respect for all, it reinforces a norm that this is a nonissue and creates a more inclusive field environment.