Geneva’s roughly 500 road crossing signs once all bore an icon of a man wearing a hat.
Recently, the city decided to take down half of these signs and replace them with 250 signs containing six different icons of women, which include young, old and pregnant women.
Serge Dal Busco, the state councillor in charge of infrastructure said that the initiative is a necessary step towards changing the mentality around gender equality. It’s not trivial. It’s a visible and concrete step, he said.
Municipal and cantonal authorities hope the new signs will make the city feel more welcoming and inclusive.
However, no plans were announced to introduce diversity to the remaining signs with male icons. They are likely to stay the same as the photographs below.
The new signs with female icons are spread across Geneva. The city has put together a map showing their locations.
The project cost CHF 56,000, according to the municipality.
More on this:
Ville de Genève press release (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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