Backlash as Swiss newspapers say the new WTO DG is a ’66-year-old Nigerian grandmother’

You could graduate from Harvard University or bag a Ph.D. from MIT, and rise to become the managing director of the World Bank who wins the heart of 164 countries to be voted WTO DG and still be primarily described as a “66-year-old Nigerian grandmother”.

At least three Swiss newspapers — Luzerner Zeitung, Aargauer Zeitung and St. Galler Tagblatt — have all primarily described Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the recently-elected director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), as a 66-year-old Nigerian grandmother.

While Okonjo-Iweala is indeed a grandmother and a 66-year-old, describing her as such after such a major appointment has led to a heavy backlash on and off social media.

The reportage from this section of the Swiss media has been referred to as an expression of racism and gender discrimination.

“This Grandmother will become the new boss of WTO,” the headline of a report by Luzerner Zeitung read, announcing Okonjo-Iweala’s selection as the director-general.

The article was published in the online and hardcopy version of the newspaper. But following the backlash on social media, the online version of the article was edited to read “This 66-year-old Nigerian will head WTO”.

Linda Klare-Repnik, the coordinator environmental and social management system, at the International Union for Conservation of Nature, called the newspaper out on Linkedin.

“Gender discrimination and racism: Swiss newspaper headlines the nomination of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for WTO Director General as ‘This Grandmother will become the new boss of WTO,” she wrote.

“If it had been a white man, the title would have been along the lines of ‘Harvard Economist, ex-World Bank Managing Director and ex Minister of Finance …’

Nadja Schnetzler, who co-founded a Swiss magazine called Republik, asked how the reporter would have written the election of Joe Biden as American president.

“What would you think if you wrote about Biden ‘this grandfather will be US President’?” she tweeted.

Aargauer Zeitung, which also published the same article written by Jan Dirk Herbermann, apologised for the “wrong” reportage.

“Nigerian Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the first woman to head the World Trade Organization. We presented the 66-year-old economist and former World Bank deputy head in a portrait and focused on her role as a grandmother in the title. That was wrong,” the newspaper tweeted, after the backlash.

“Okonjo-Iweala is much more than that. For example, Harvard economist, as you can read in our text,” the newspaper added, sharing an updated version of the article.

A Ugandan-born academic and development economist in Germany highlighted that the same media would refer to Angela Merkel, who is also 66 as mother, but refer to Okonjo-Iweala as a grandmother.

Okonjo-Iweala has a Bachelor’s in economics from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in regional economics and development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She also holds honourary degrees from over a dozen universities globally.

She was a two-time minister of finance in Nigeria and minister of foreign affairs. She is the first female to take up both jobs.

She is a board member at Twitter, Standard Chartered Bank, and African Risk Capacity. The 66-year-old was up till February 2021, the co-chair of the Global Commission for the Economy and Climate.

She is a member Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) international advisory board; IMF external advisory board; and AU special envoy.

She won the global finance minister of the year 2005 by Euromoney. She was one of the top 100 most influential people in the World for 2014 by TIME Magazine.

She was also one of the top 100 global thinkers for 2011 and 2012 by Foreign Policy.

The top 100 most powerful women in the world by Forbes Magazine would not have been complete in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 without her name.

She holds some of the highest national honours from Nigeria, Liberia, and Cote d’Ivoire.

https://www.thecable.ng/backlash-as-swiss-newspapers-say-the-new-wto-dg-is-a-66-year-old-nigerian-grandmother

Whats wrong with a 66 year old Nigerian grandmother if she can more than deliver..?

..or is it because she is African? Most world leaders are grand parents..



*modified*

For those quoting me unnecessarily...what i wrote is an admonishment for those stupid authors and i simply meant...what has her age, gender and descent got to do with her capacity ,acheivements and readiness to deliver.. ( cant go simpler than this now,can i?)

Thunder thunder dem & their akara newspaper

About the youngest to occupy the position

E dey their blood,awon racist. But make we even reason am small, this woman has got brainssssss.

Now see this part.

Okonjo-Iweala has a Bachelor’s in economics from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in regional economics and development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She also holds honourary degrees from over a dozen universities globally.

She was a two-time minister of finance in Nigeria and minister of foreign affairs. She is the first female to take up both jobs.

She is a board member at Twitter, Standard Chartered Bank, and African Risk Capacity. The 66-year-old was up till February 2021, the co-chair of the Global Commission for the Economy and Climate.

She is a member Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) international advisory board; IMF external advisory board; and AU special envoy.

She won the global finance minister of the year 2005 by Euromoney. She was one of the top 100 most influential people in the World for 2014 by TIME Magazine.

She was also one of the top 100 global thinkers for 2011 and 2012 by Foreign Policy.

The top 100 most powerful women in the world by Forbes Magazine would not have been complete in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 without her name.

She holds some of the highest national honours from Nigeria, Liberia, and Cote d’Ivoire.

Kudos Madame!!!!

Fvck them whites
They should all bury their heads in shame, a 66 year old grandma was called upon to move the world trade forward..
What stopped them from parading their 2 year old infants as candidates??
..... This is pure racism..martin Luther suffered worse, nelson Mandela etc..
This goes a long way to show that despite your achievements so long as you're black.....
Fvvvvvvvvck them whitessssss

What ever they like, let them call her, as far as she's occupying the position which is the most important thing, the whites are just in a state of shock that an African, a woman for that matter will be occupying the highly coveted position.

Until we keep Nigeria as it is, we would keep being ridiculed by the world because we would keep getting poorer and slide into the levels of Somalia, if we don't break this monster, we will all become like the North, and it's going to get wayyy worse in the North,

Why don't we as blacks ever take time out to see what the future holds? It took the world bank to tell us we are going to get poorer

Racist...e pain dem.

Wetin concern me so far as she enter newspaper for good thing is okay..if them like make them call her Nigerian grandmother or soon to be great grandmother or ancestor.. we go manage am like that..

The Swiss, like many Europeans, are racist. How old was Trump when he became the POTUS even Biden? Yeyenatu

How old was John McCain, the last time he contested for the US presidency?

Their cry never start.

What's wrong there? Does she not a grandmother before?

How old are the leaders of
UN
WHO
IOC
NATO

Abegi! She is grandma yes we love her so

Goldencheese:
The Swiss like many Europeans are racist. How old was Trump when he became the POTUS? Yeyenatu

Their cry never start.

Exactly! How old is the new American president Joe Biden self?

Is a grandmother suppose to be an insult?

wow

Nnamdi Kanu is a fool

SEE WETIN AFONJA CAUSE, LEARN TO VALUE YOUR OWN

That's so fvcking racist!

To think nobody even calls Bubu a grandpa.

Racist fvcktads

Awon racist oshi

so that's the only part of her very robust & elegant profile that they can see. selective blindness.

Racism stinks!

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get a life
your family is still chained to poverty as full time slaves yet EVERYDAY AND NIGHT you are here saying you want to make people rich with sure bet.

na you dey play the ball?

please pity your family and make yourself useful.

Racist fvck!!!!