Only 4.5% of streets in Athens are named after women – One of the lowest in Europe

Very few streets in Athens bear women’s names, a distinction that Greeks might not have considered until now but certainly will not be proud of. Specifically, only 4.5% of streets are named after women.

This was shown by Mapping Diversity, a large-scale research and data analysis that maps persons honoured on the streets of Europe, according to data published by the iMEdD Lab (Incubator for Media Education and Development), one of the participating institutions.

The research found that 1,651 streets of the Greek capital bear people’s names. The percentage of female names is so low that it places Athens in one of the lowest-ranking positions among 30 of the largest cities in Europe.

According to the research organisation, “1,546 streets, namely 93.6%, are dedicated to men while only 74 are named after women. These women were mainly involved in culture, politics, religion or other areas.”

In other cities, however, things are not much better either: On average, streets named after women make up just 9% of streets dedicated to people, while 91% of streets honour men.

These are just some of the conclusions of Mapping Diversity, carried out under the coordination of OBC Transeuropa for the European Data Journalism Network (EDJNet). In it, 145,933 roads in 17 different European countries were examined.

Source: GCT//Paul Antonopoulos