UnNews:Australia tries gender-neutral traffic signals
| Where man always bites dog | ✪ | UnNews | ✪ | Thursday, November 21, 2024, 12:13:59 (UTC) |
| Australia tries gender-neutral traffic signals | 
|
7 March 2017
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Australia has installed female traffic signals to combat "unconscious bias" against women.
The 12-month trial in the city of Melbourne is a nonprofit organization’s attempt to promote gender equality. Their goal is to eventually have half of Melbourne's signals tell drivers what to believe rather than when to step on the gas.
The Committee for Melbourne will pay the $8,400 bill generated for every six signals replaced. Martine Letts, chief executive, says that artists don't come cheap if they can draw breasts on the stick figures in the city's Ped Xing signs without making them look saggy or fake.
Victorian Gov. Linda Dessau said, "These symbols are a practical and meaningful way to reach the 50 percent of our population who might not follow a traffic law unless the signal looks like it is coming from a fellow female" because a male depicted on a traffic sign might harbor sexist feelings against them.
The move is on the heels of a verdict last year in the U.S. Supreme Court, where Justice Anthony Kennedy propped up affirmative action for another decade or two on the basis that whites might hate blacks even if they do not feel hatred toward them.
Minister for Women Fiona Richardson said that the proposed stop-lights, with red, yellow, and green all replaced with pink, will provide perfect clarity, at least regarding the city's stance on gender issues. Arrows on directional signs will be painted over in Phase 2 of the project. Ms. Richardson said city government is still looking for a way to accommodate the potential slights felt by blind drivers.
Sources[edit]
- Douglas Ernst "Australia tries female traffic signals to combat ‘unconscious bias’". Washington Times, March 7, 2017