Female Pedestrian Lights

Travelers in Lithuania may now notice something unique about the pedestrian traffic lights. The country’s capital city of Vilnius has recently given some traffic signs a makeover to feature the female figure. 

In honor of the centenary of women’s voting rights in Lithuania, Vilnius has installed 14 female-empowering traffic lights as of November 2018. The female traffic lights appear along the main Konstitucijos Street, opposite some of the city’s largest businesses.

Unlike pedestrian traffic lights that feature the male symbol, Vilnius’ signs serve as a reminder of how far women in Lithuania have advanced and have yet to go. Like many other European countries, Lithuanian women earn 14 percent less than their male colleagues and only 17 percent of local women hold executive positions. There remains an undeniable inequality between the genders, which Vilnius hopes to address head-on.

“Modern society does not exist without fully empowered women, yet globally all of us are still halfway on this journey,” said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius via Twitter. 

Lithuania was the first European country to grant women voting rights back in 1918, well before the United States. The use of female figures in pedestrian lights is rarely seen in countries, making this change small yet significant.