SHARE
COPY LINK

GENEVA

Why have Geneva’s new ‘feminised’ pedestrian crossing signs caused such a row?

As part of its plan to promote gender equality, Geneva has installed 250 pedestrian crossing panels featuring women. But why are many residents are complaining about the new signs?

Why have Geneva’s new 'feminised' pedestrian crossing signs caused such a row?
Ville de Genève. Facebook page, Geneva Discovery

“In agreement with the cantonal transport office, a variation of six feminized pictograms will now cover half of the panels where male figures were represented”, Geneva’s authorities announced in a statement last week.

The new panels are part of “the policy of promoting equality between women and men and against LGBTIQ discrimination in the City of Geneva”, the statement said.

The signs show a pregnant woman, two women holding hands, as well as an elderly person, crossing the street.

Serge Dal Busco, State Councilor in charge of the infrastructure department noted that the initiative “goes in the direction of a necessary change of mentalities in terms of equality in all aspects of our society; showing diversity on official signs is not trivial, it is a concrete, visible and relevant contribution to global action in favour of equality”.

 

However, many in Geneva are critical of the project, arguing that women’s rights should begin with pay equality and not merely with pictograms.

“The signs are grotesque, useless and costly,” Geneva deputy Salika Wenger told Le Temps newspaper. 

Ana Roch of Geneva Citizens Movement pointed out that “the city is ridiculing itself by wanting to carry the weight of sexism on generic signs”.

Some also expressed outrage at the price of the project, which costs 56,000 francs.

“There are so many people in financial difficulties here and the city is throwing money out the window”, Roch noted.

The sentiment is echoed by a Twitter user who wrote, “What an idiotic idea! It shows that Geneva couldn’t care less about its taxpayers’ money”.

The criticism took Geneva’s mayor, Sandrine Salerno, by surprise.

“In thirteen years of politics, I have rarely had so many violent, misogynistic and conservative reactions to a project that is part of a broad plan to fight sexism”, she said.
 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

TRAIN TRAVEL

Why the ‘strategic’ Geneva to Lyon train line needs drastic improvement

Commuters on trains between Geneva and Lyon (and vice versa) have had to face a number of problems over the years. But there is a new move to drastically improve the service.

Why the 'strategic' Geneva to Lyon train line needs drastic improvement

The train services circulating several times a day between Switzerland’s second-largest city and Lyon in France are used by thousands of commuters on both sides of the border.

But these trains, operated by France’s national railway company SNCF, as well as the country’s regional rail network,TER, are subpar, according to Swiss Green Party MP Delphine Klopfenstein Broggini, who has brought this issue to Switzerland’s Federal Council.

She has sounded the alarm over the fact that many of the trains circulating between these two major cities are in poor condition, and she says the rail infrastructure on the French side of the border is dilapidated and in need of urgent upgrading.

Not only are these trains uncomfortable for passengers, Klopfenstein Broggini argues, but the outdated infrastructure also means that additional trains can’t be put into circulation.

“This link is strategic for Switzerland, as it is its gateway to southwest Europe,” Klopfenstein Broggini pointed out, so improvements on this 112-km-long line “must therefore become a priority” for the government.

What exactly is she pushing for?

“My primary goal is that there should be more, but less obsolete, direct trains running on this line,” the MP said.

“Today, there are around thirty trains which connect Zurich to Stuttgart every day. But on the Geneva to Lyon line, there are only around ten. There should be twice as many, which would alleviate the [overcrowding] situation a lot.”

But that’s not all: she also wants Swiss trains to be put into service on this line for more efficiency.

“I am also asking if it would be possible for Bern to invest in rolling stock on this line, so as to ensure its maintenance, or even its operation, in collaboration with France,” she added.

The SBB operates trains from Geneva to Milan, so Swiss trains could also run to Lyon, Klopfenstein Broggini said.

“This would be in Switzerland’s interest,” she added.

And there would also be another benefit in a more efficient train connecting Geneva with Lyon, according to the MP.

If the infrastructure were in better shape and the trains more modern, the two-hour journey between the two cities could be shortened.

That would make the commute more appealing to some of the 220,000 cross-border workers who commute to their jobs in Geneva from France by car.

“The goal is to transfer some of these motorists from road to rail,” the MP said.

The next step is for the Federal Council to discuss Klopfenstein Broggini’s proposal.

SHOW COMMENTS