Maybe you’ve never thought about those traditional restroom icons—the man in the pants and the woman in the skirt—but they are actually a hot topic in today’s workplace. These traditional icons not only leave out transgendered employees but they are also seen as depicting women in a stereotypical way by using the skirt as a symbol. So, one company has started a movement to “radically transform” the iconic female restroom symbol!
 |
The initiative, ItWasNeverADress.com, was started by project management software company Axosoft to reflect the shifting perceptions and assumptions of male and female roles in the workplace, especially in technology. Axosoft’s Curator of Culture Tania Katan talked about the symbol in a press release. “We see her every day. She’s been in that stiff, triangle dress, looking uncomfortable. And she’s the symbol that represents women—no wonder we feel rigid and trapped.”
So Katan teamed up with colleague Sara Breeding to look at the icon with new eyes. “What if there never had been a dress?” they brainstormed. “What if we were seeing her from the wrong side?”
The creative juices flowed, and there was the realization that maybe the icon was being viewed from the back—and that that darn triangle was not a skirt—but a cape. What if the icon was really a superwoman!?
Axosoft CEO Lawdan Shojaee bought in to the premise, saying, “The reason why ItWasNeverADress matters is because I’m a woman in technology, and I’m also a mother. I have a daughter and a son, and I want them to have the same opportunities in technology and beyond.”
The initiative debuted at the Girls in Tech conference in Arizona and has reached over 8.5 million people on Twitter and Instagram. “When we see women differently, we see the world differently,” said Katan. Guess that’s true even if the woman is an icon on a restroom door. Now the question is, will we see a large “S” printed on the cape on restroom doors.
Interesting–this got a lot of exposure, but I had no idea that a company was behind it.