Melbourne introduces female traffic light figures

In Australia, pedestrian lights are the latest frontier to fight against unconscious sexism in the the country.

The Committee for Melbourne, a non-profit organisation in Victoria, officially began its 'Equal Crossings' campaign. The campaign aims to install an equal number of traffic lights which show a female figure, replacing the silhouette of a man which has become the global standard.

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

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"Unconscious bias reinforces stereotypes and influences daily decisions and attitudes," she told News Limited.

The programme was supported by Victorian Governor Linda Dessau. "Some people have expressed a little skepticism wondering whether it's gesture politics rather than having any real substance," she said.

"But these 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."

The decision has been met with both criticism and applause.

Some people commented that time and money could have been spent on more important issues:

Of course there was some sarcasm:

Some common sense:

 

Well at least someone is happy:

This story originally appeared on Mashable.