California seeks gender neutral displays in large stores

California could soon force large department stores to display some child products in gender-neutral terms

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California could soon force large department stores to display some child products in gender neutral ways after the state Legislature passed a bill on Wednesday aimed at getting rid of traditional pink and blue marketing schemes for items like toys and toothbrushes. The bill would not outlaw traditional boys and girls sections in department stores, but it would require retailers to have a gender neutral section to display “a reasonable selection” of items “regardless of whether they have been traditionally marketed for either girls or for boys.” The bill would only apply to department stores with 500 or more employees, so most small businesses would be exempt. It also wouldn't apply to clothes, just toys and “childcare items,” which include hygiene and teething products. The state Senate passed the bill Wednesday, sending it back to the Assembly for a procedural vote before it heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk. If it becomes law, California would become the first state to require these sections in stores, according to the office of Assemblyman Evan Low, the bill's author.