The green man traffic signal has been replaced by a woman at pedestrian crossings in London.

Transport for London (TfL) said the switch was aimed at “recognising the contribution women make to all aspects of society”.

The change was made on International Women’s Day at 20 locations in the capital, such as high streets in Clapham, Brixton and Lewisham, at Hyde Park Corner and outside King’s Cross St Pancras Tube station.

Green woman at the lights
The lights have been designed to meet the safety features of the conventional green man figure (TfL/PA)

Rather than the traditional image of a person wearing a dress to signify gender, the signals feature a range of women in different shapes and sizes.

TfL said they were produced for free by Siemens Mobility and adhere to safety features of the conventional green man figure, ensuring pedestrians continue to recognise when it is safe to cross a road.

TfL asset operations performance manager Felicity Luckett said: “We are excited to have created a set of new diverse green woman pedestrian crossings to mark International Women’s Day.

“It is important we commemorate the hard work, contributions and success of women across London every day and even more so on International Women’s Day.

“We hope that by increasing the visibility of women with these signals in public and shared spaces, Londoners will be reminded of the huge contributions of women.”

In June 2016, a series of signals were replaced with LGBT+ symbols as part of London’s Pride festival.