Bored Panda works better on our iPhone app
Continue in app Continue in browser

BoredPanda Add post form topAdd Post
Tooltip close

The Bored Panda iOS app is live! Fight boredom with iPhones and iPads here.

Geneva Feminizes Its Traffic Signs To Promote Gender Equality But Not Everyone Is On Board
User submission
33
6.2K

Geneva Feminizes Its Traffic Signs To Promote Gender Equality But Not Everyone Is On Board

Geneva Permanently ‘Feminizes’ Half Of Its Traffic SignsGeneva Replaces Men With Women On Half Of Its Traffic Signs To Promote Gender Equality In PublicGeneva Replaces Conventional Traffic Signs With Feminized VersionsGeneva Feminizes Its Traffic Signs To Promote Gender EqualityGeneva Feminizes 250 Traffic Signs To Promote Gender Equality And DiversityGeneva Replaces Traditional Male Signs With The Silhouettes Of 6 Different WomenGeneva Permanently ‘Feminizes’ Half Of Its Traffic Signs But Not Everyone Supports The IdeaGeneva Feminizes Its Traffic Signs To Promote Gender Equality But Not Everyone Is On BoardDiscussion Sparks On The Internet After Geneva Feminizes Its Traffic Signs To Promote Gender EqualityGeneva Feminizes Its Traffic Signs To Promote Gender Equality But Not Everyone Is On Board
ADVERTISEMENT

It’s difficult to comprehend that less than 100 years ago or even less than the-lifetime-of-a-human-being ago, women weren’t recognized as being equal to men politically, socially, or economically. It was a ‘man’s world’, and while the social change is obvious, to this day, no country worldwide can claim to have achieved gender equality.

Switzerland finally granted women the right to vote in 1971, being one of the last countries in Europe to follow the example of New Zealand which granted women’s suffrage decades before that. But what wasn’t written on the paper hasn’t fully translated into equal reality. Swiss women earn roughly 20 percent less than men and the media is booming with news about women strikes for wage gap, violence prevention, and recognition. And the government seems to actually pay attention. Geneva took a daring step in gender mainstreaming by permanently replacing half of the informational signs of pedestrian crossings with ‘feminized’ versions.

More info: Instagram | ville-geneve.ch

Image credits: ville-geneve

Throughout history, public spaces were designed by men for men and we can still observe it nowadays. Since the existing road signs are representing men – some are evidently masculine, others with the pretext of neutrality – the government decided to go from 100% male to gender equal. 250 signs with women silhouettes were installed at pedestrian crossings all around the second-largest city in Switzerland.

ADVERTISEMENT

Image credits: ville_de_geneve

“The omnipresence of stereotypical male representations in the public space, notably through traffic signs, reinforces the idea that some people, in particular women but also minorities, belong less than others,” said the mayor Sandrine Salerno on an official press release.

Image credits: ville_de_geneve

Image credits: ville_de_geneve

A pioneering project carried out in collaboration with the Department of Infrastructure of the State of Geneva aims to raise awareness about equality and diversity, and combat stereotypes by increasing the visibility of women in public spaces. It’s just part of a broad strategy of the city to fight inequality between men and women, and LGBTQ discrimination. The initiative cost the city 56,000 Swiss francs (approximately 52,000 euros). The next step to reinforce gender equality is to feminize street names in Geneva that are currently dominated by male names.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Image credits: Keystone

The new female road signs not only manifest equality but celebrate diversity, too. They come in six versions to portray the inclusiveness and legitimacy, including a pregnant woman, an elderly woman with a cane, a gay couple, and an African-American. However, so far no changes to diversify current signs with male icons weren’t announced to the public but according to Salerno, they are not excluded.

Image credits: ville_de_geneve

Image credits: ville_de_geneve

Image credits: ville_de_geneve

ADVERTISEMENT

Image credits: ville_de_geneve

Image credits: ville_de_geneve

Image credits: ville_de_geneve

Do these new road signs, in fact, direct society in the right direction? Gender equality is widely talked about but remains a sensitive topic, nevertheless. Each action to contribute to this cause, especially when it comes to political decisions, is analyzed through a magnifying glass as the line between feminism and pseudo-feminism is getting thinner.

The changes sparked a discussion on the internet with some people supporting the positive initiative, others pointing at flaws in the project and criticizing the way it contributes to equality. People discussed that this even adds to a stereotypical representation of women wearing dresses and heels, and backed the idea of generic vague stick figures instead of any complex designs that might indicate gender. Some of them accused the local government of wasting public money and trying to earn easy bonus points for ‘contributing to equality’ for show instead of taking important steps to actually ensure equality in the country.

ADVERTISEMENT

People immediately started criticising the idea

Image credits: lukewarm

Image credits: False-God

Image credits: Acquiescinit

Image credits: piorn

Image credits: Pinannapple

Image credits: lorin_fortuna

ADVERTISEMENT

Image credits: zelenisod

Image credits: XAMdG

The city’s authorities say it’s not a gimmick but part of a broader plan to make a social change towards equality in public and inspire other cities to follow the example. “Initiative goes towards a necessary change of mentalities in terms of equality in all aspects of our society; showing diversity on official signs is not trivial, it is a concrete, visible and relevant contribution to global action in favor of equality,” said Serge Dal Busco, the state councilor in charge of infrastructure.

6Kviews

Share on Facebook
Hidrėlėy

Hidrėlėy

Author, Pro member

Read more »

Fascinated by music, movies and sitcoms, I'm passionate about social media and can't live without the internet, especially for all the cute dog and cat pictures out there. I wish the day had about 40 hours to be able to do everything I want.

Read less »
Hidrėlėy

Hidrėlėy

Author, Pro member

Fascinated by music, movies and sitcoms, I'm passionate about social media and can't live without the internet, especially for all the cute dog and cat pictures out there. I wish the day had about 40 hours to be able to do everything I want.

Violeta Draseikaitė

Violeta Draseikaitė

Moderator, BoredPanda staff

Read more »

My name is Violeta and I am an editor here at Bored Panda. I love reading memes for a living. It’s obviously much more than that, but I appreciate the variety of topics, information, and pics I get to see every day and share with the world! Those funny memes really make my day too. Being born in the ’90s in post-Soviet Lithuania speaks more about me than I’d like to admit. I’m still learning about the world and myself, but I do love my friends, traveling, art, and my cat. My favorite fact to share about myself is that I used to hide meatballs in my friend’s pockets at lunch so I could go play outside. I wish all those meatballs could find their way back to me someday.

Read less »

Violeta Draseikaitė

Violeta Draseikaitė

Moderator, BoredPanda staff

My name is Violeta and I am an editor here at Bored Panda. I love reading memes for a living. It’s obviously much more than that, but I appreciate the variety of topics, information, and pics I get to see every day and share with the world! Those funny memes really make my day too. Being born in the ’90s in post-Soviet Lithuania speaks more about me than I’d like to admit. I’m still learning about the world and myself, but I do love my friends, traveling, art, and my cat. My favorite fact to share about myself is that I used to hide meatballs in my friend’s pockets at lunch so I could go play outside. I wish all those meatballs could find their way back to me someday.

What do you think ?
Add photo comments
POST
N G
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just having black people on the signs seems a bit racist.

John C
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, yes, YES! lmao. Pretty sure in my lifetime I'm going to witness this come full circle. People have only so much capacity and I get the feeling our tolerance is already starting to come up full on the unwinnable battle to include all people all the time in all things.

Load More Replies...
Chris DiFonso
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

F#ck the road signs, how about some meaningful action such as paying women more?

Load More Comments
N G
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just having black people on the signs seems a bit racist.

John C
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, yes, YES! lmao. Pretty sure in my lifetime I'm going to witness this come full circle. People have only so much capacity and I get the feeling our tolerance is already starting to come up full on the unwinnable battle to include all people all the time in all things.

Load More Replies...
Chris DiFonso
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

F#ck the road signs, how about some meaningful action such as paying women more?

Load More Comments
You May Like
Related on Bored Panda
Related on Bored Panda
Trending on Bored Panda
Also on Bored Panda