All men must go: Greens demand gender neutral street signs!

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The man in the hat is Manuela Weichelt (55) a thorn in the side. The Zug Greens national councilor is disturbed by the fact that Swiss street signs mainly show men.

The sign marking a footpath features a man holding a girl’s hand. And also on the signals for pedestrian crossings and underpasses men are depicted. Only the traffic sign for pedestrian zones shows a woman holding a child. “The signs do not reflect social reality at all,” criticizes Weichelt. “It seems that the discussion about equality and gender has so far passed the signal without a trace.”

The Greens politician believes that this must change. After all, next week is June 14 – women’s strike day. Women – but also men – take to the streets on this day to fight for equal pay and pensions, the compatibility of work and family life and against sexism and harassment.

More women – or an abstract figure

For Weichelt, this includes equality on street signs. She wants to know from Transport Minister Albert Rösti (55, SVP) at the question hour of the National Council next Monday whether he is willing to replace the footpath signal with a new image. As a result of which? Green politicians do not want to commit themselves to that.

One possibility would be to depict very different people – women, men, fat, thin, pregnant women or people in wheelchairs. Similar to Geneva, where since 2020 women with different silhouettes can be seen on pedestrian signs. Or you could do without gender at all and just show abstract figures instead of men or women. “The most important thing is that the stereotypes disappear,” says Weichelt.

“I hope the department is open”

Aren’t there more pressing problems than men in hats on street signs? “Of course,” replies the National Council. She therefore only submits her request to the Bundesrat as a non-binding question. She hopes that the responsible department will take the opportunity to “be creative” a few days before the women’s strike. “So that further advancements are not necessary.”

It is a kindly worded threat to Transport Minister Rösti. If he doesn’t act, Weichelt should probably double down with an advance. Processing it then devours more resources in politics and administration – and therefore taxpayers’ money. But, as we know, this is rarely an obstacle for politicians. Certainly not in the election year.

Source:Blick