In Australia, pedestrian lights are the latest frontier to fight against unconscious sexism in the country.
A lobby group called the Committee for Melbourne is behind a push for the Australian city to have half of its pedestrian lights feature a female silhouette, as opposed to the usual male version.
But not everyone is happy. Even those aware that the lights won’t actually resemble an old-timey Mary Poppins figure.
It’s all part of the Equal Crossings initiative, and its aim is to reduce unconscious bias and further gender equality in a public setting.
“Unconscious bias reinforces stereotypes and influences daily decisions and attitudes. The Equal Crossings initiative will draw our attention to these issues in a practical and positive way,” Committee for Melbourne’s CEO, Martine Letts, said in a statement.
A brand new set of lights with a female silhouette have been installed at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets on Tuesday.
It’s part of the initiative’s short-term goal of 1:1 male and female representation on pedestrian lights in the city centre. That could expand to across the state, if the initiative is taken up by the state’s road authority.
“There are many small — but symbolically significant — ways that women are excluded from public space,” Victoria’s Minister for Women, Fiona Richardson, said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to see pedestrian crossing lights use a woman’s figure. This is a wonderful way to make public space more inclusive of women.”
Last year, the City of Yarra council in Melbourne installed pedestrian traffic lights featuring a silhouette of Mary Rogers, the first female elected to local government, in conjunction with International Women’s Day.
It seems that social media comments on Tuesday are confusing last year’s suffragette-looking efforts with the latest, more minimal take on a female figure.
However, reactions to the independently-funded initiative have been mixed regardless. From the trolling to the downright angry.
“I’m all for doing anything we can for gender equity, but really?” Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Robert Doyle, told the Herald Sun. “Unfortunately, I think this sort of costly exercise is more likely to bring derision.”
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