Every day you probably use one but how often have you stopped and questioned that little green or red man in the crossing signal box? And I mean not just when he makes you wait for ages to cross, but his gender? Well, some people have and they're sick of this ~clear bias~ towards women. Sound a bit crazy? You're not wrong...
Today the city of Melbourne, Australia, installed female traffic cross signals as part of a gender equality campaign. Yes: 10 figures dressed in skirts were installed today, a day before International Women’s Day, reports the Telegraph.
"The idea is to install traffic lights with female representation, as well as male representation, to help reduce unconscious bias,"
"The aim is to move towards one-to-one male and female representation across the state of Victoria."
But the new Mary Poppins-esque signals haven't been met very enthusiastically by the public, especially considering it cost over €6000 to install the female figures:
How dare people assume the person on the traffic light was a man! You can just assume gender like that people! #MelbTraffic #Melbourne
— Matty (@MattyMcP25) March 7, 2017
One guy even suggested the mother and child crossing signs should be changed too, and you gotta admit he has a point:
It's a tough one.....What do you think?