‘Gender-Equal Snow Ploughing’ Plunges Stockholm into Chaos

Politicians in Stockholm said the policy of “gender-equal” snow removal has failed after the weather brought Sweden’s capital to a standstill last week, with hospitals reporting a fourfold increase in broken bones. The city switched to a “feminist” system of clearing snow last winter but last week’s burst of snow, which threw the city into chaos, has cast doubt on its effectiveness. Hundreds of thousands of people were affected, with the majority of bus routes put out of service and commuters having to wait in queues for several hours. Previously, fresh snowfalls were cleared first from main roads and by areas like construction sites before being removed from pavements and cycle lanes. As men are more likely to drive and women more likely to travel on foot, more women slipped on the ice which led to complaints that the system was sexist. Vice-mayor of Stockholm, the Green Party’s Daniel Helldén, admitted that “equality snow removal” had failed the city, and apologised to residents who had injured themselves as a result...more