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PINK Magazine Gets City of Atlanta to Change "Men Working" Signs; New Signs to Be Gender-Inclusive ATLANTA, July 8, 2008—When the founding editor of PINK, the national magazine, website and events provider for career-focused women, was nearly arrested for allegedly spray-painting "WO" on the "Men Working" signs in her area, she learned that the male-centric signs were once prohibited by federal code. So Cynthia Good promptly fired off letters to Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue insisting that they make construction crews comply. And last week, she got results. Joe Basista, commissioner of the Atlanta Department of Public Works, has just agreed "to take immediate measures to phase out any gender-specific signs by crews and contractors performing work for the city," and to "integrate this requirement into the permitting process to ensure compliance by all others working in the city's right of way." In 1978, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices prohibited the words "Men" and "Flagman" on signs, requiring that they be replaced with "Workers" and "Flagger." In 2003, the list of prohibited words was removed, despite the fact that more than 4 percent of highway workers are now women, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Iowa's Department of Transportation now prohibits all gender-specific signs, but Georgia needed a shove in the right direction. "We're considering this a small but important victory for working women," Good says. But it's a bigger issue than just recognizing women construction workers in a gender-inclusive way, she adds. "It's this kind of subtle discrimination that holds women back. And it's not acceptable." PINK now challenges government officials across the nation to take an example from Atlanta and clean up their own acts. About PINK: |
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