WHICH COUNTRY HAS THE LEAST SEXIST BANKNOTES?

There are calls for the US and Canada to put a woman on a banknote. A similar campaign in the UK successfully convinced the Bank of England to put Jane Austen on the £10 note. But is just one woman per country enough?

American bills have portraits of the country's Founding Fathers and former presidents. Chinese notes have Mao Zedong and Indian ones have Mahatma Gandhi, but none of them feature any women. Many other currencies also stick to men, sometimes including a token woman or two.

Now there are calls for the US to put a female on the $20 bill. "The United States needs to show the world that we, too, recognise and value the contributions of women," says Susan Ades Stone, executive director of the campaign group Women On 20s.

"Our money says something about us and what we represent as a society. So if we're all about gender equality and diversity and inclusion, let's walk the walk."

The US currently has seven bills in circulation, all of which feature distinguished, deceased American statesmen. Women On 20s conducted an online poll and asked people to choose which of 15 historical female leaders they would most like to see on the note.

The candidates included civil rights activist Rosa Parks, birth control pioneer Margaret Sanger, suffragette Susan B Anthony and Harriet Tubman who escaped slavery and went on to lead other slaves to freedom.

Once the final poll closes, the group will petition President Obama to replace Andrew Jackson with the chosen woman.

Many wonder why Jackson - the seventh president of the US - hasn't been removed from the $20 bill already. He is especially unpopular with Native Americans due to his signing and enforcing the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which forced tribes off their land. Thousands of Native Americans died on the journey west - known as the Trail of Tears - from exposure, starvation and disease.

His controversial legacy is one of the reasons why Women On 20s chose to target this particular bill for change.

Meanwhile in Canada, more than 54,000 people have signed a petition to put a woman on a banknote there after the sole female to appear on the country's currency, Therese Casgrain, was replaced in 2011 by an icebreaker ship.

To read the complete article, see:
Which country has the least sexist banknotes? (www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32204664)

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