Still bearing the scars from the wet cous-cous (and how on earth did I explain that away to my wife) I am going to keep my mouth shut for a while! But I have asked my daughter the question to get a UK female mid 20s (GSH, seeks relationship..) perspective on the subject.

On the specific question of signage, in the UK the majority of toilets for females that are word signed have "Ladies" but "Women" is common also. Apart from the jokey or themed signs, like the ones in the Veterans club that says "No Man's Land".

Rod