‘Green Lady’ crossing signs for gender equality? Wendy Tuohy says more work is needed
WENDY Tuohy asks whether a green lady on a crossing instead of a green man is the best this wealthy council can do to promote gender equality.
Wendy Tuohy
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A LITTLE green lady on a pedestrian crossing instead of a green man is the best the wealthy Yarra Council can do to “promote gender equality”? Seriously?
All this flagrant gimmick and publicity stunt for the (male) councillors who got their picture out there with their newly-gendered traffic sign did was demonstrate the lack of understanding about what change is really needed.
CROSSING OVER: Yarra Council’s move for gender equality
What a wasted chance to do some actual good.
Sure, this distraction probably came from a place of goodwill. But honestly, if you think changing the gender of one crossing sign and posing in a photo with it is going to do anything real to counter entrenched inequality across the workforce and in many other sectors of society you’re not that serious about actual equality.
In fact, overwhelming negative reaction to the "green ladies" initiative even from people more than open and friendly to improving gender equality suggests such a trite trick may actually do more harm than good.
People don’t want to see the serious issue of equality trivialised with a picture opportunity.
To get people really committed to actual causes, like better protecting women and children at risk from family violence, supporting increasing numbers of older homeless women, or supporting struggling mothers back to work you have to take these issues seriously; as meaningful strategies go, a novelty traffic sign isn’t it.
How many people really look at the “little green man” anyway and think "Sexist! A man is telling me what to do (walk/don’t walk) again?" No one. And can’t women wear pants, anyway who’s to say it’s even a dude?
Yarra Council has tried to make itself look madly politically correct when it could have been making an actual difference and not just annoying people by turning something real into a bit of self-promotion.
If they were really keen to help boost equality they could lobby local businesses — of which there are thousands in their zone — to pay women the same as they pay equally qualified men.
They could be upping funding to local organisations working to support domestic violence victims and provide crisis accommodation or counselling.
They could be throwing their weight behind local girls’ sports clubs competing in traditionally male sports like footy and soccer and helping them gather similar resources to the boys’ teams.
They could be funding a zone-wide campaign reminding local businesses about the need to keep working to reduce all types of workplace discrimination and harassment.
Problem: none of those make as “unique and rare” a photo opportunity as a crossing light featuring a Mary Poppins silhouette.
This one sign is going up for one year; yet the council thinks this kind of token gesture can make a difference to gender equality?
Sorry guys, nice try, but you’ll need to try a whole lot harder than that.
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