Gender equality gets the green light in Melbourne

Ten pedestrian traffic lights depicting female figures will be installed at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets in Melbourne.

The initiative was funded by non-profit organisation The Committee for Melbourne and appears to be timely on the eve of International Women’s Day.

"The idea is to install traffic lights with female representation, as well as male representation, to help reduce unconscious bias," Committee CEO Martine Letts said.

“This is a wonderful way to make public space more inclusive for women,” she stated.

The committee has aspirations to have both female and male representation on all pedestrian crossings.

"We know that Melbourne is the world's most liveable city and we would really like to see Melbourne also known as the world's most equal city,” the Committee for Melbourne’s press release stated.

The idea of modifying traffic lights in the name of gender equality has been around for several years, notably in the German city of Dortmund where they have introduced ‘Ampelfrauen’ green women pedestrian traffic lights. And green women pedestrian lights can be found in other European city streets.

So, what does the average Melbournian think about this change and is it a good use of state government resources?

Given it costs an average of $8400 to change six traffic lights, this initiative has invariably drawn some criticism from politicians.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle believes “this sort of costly exercise is more likely to bring derision”.

But according to Letts, the symbols are “a practical and meaningful way to demonstrate that in fact 50 per cent of our population is female and should therefore also be represented at traffic lights”.

What do you think? Is this a positive move towards achieving gender equality?