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OfDelia Friess
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A photo from the Munich Security Conference is currently causing criticism online. It shows powerful “old white men” at a meeting—no women or persons of color.
Munich – The photo, which is currently going viral, shows business leaders on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference having lunch in the Bayerischer Hof. According to the photo, around thirty people attended the CEO lunch at the Munich Security Conference. The striking thing: Only men can be seen. Not a single woman or person of color sits at the table. Michael Bröcker, editor-in-chief of The Pioneer, took the photo and then posted it on the social media platform Twitter. There it caused many reactions and comments criticizing the lack of equality and diversity.
In response to the photo, SPD politician Sawsan Chebli wrote on Twitter: “This picture is like from another world. But it’s not a different world. It’s reality in 2022. This is what the CEO Lunch at #MSC2022 looks like. Here is power and here women are missing. We still have a lot to do.” Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) tweeted: “Incredible! That there are still such pictures today! #MSC2022 still has a lot to do.” International activists, including the Center for Feminist Foreign Policy in Germany, have long been calling for a more feminist foreign policy.
At the Munich Security Conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made clear demands on the West: “We no longer need your sanctions when bombs fall.”
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Munich Security Conference: Photo of CEO lunch shows only “old, white men”
Irish researcher Dr. Jennifer Cassidy wrote: “This is the CEO lunch at ‘MSC2022. That is reality. Here is the power. This is where some of the most far-reaching decisions are made. This week, a woman had the audacity to ask me, ‘You focus too much on gender in foreign policy. That’s no longer a problem.’ That’s wrong.”
Michael Bröcker, who took the photo, wrote on Twitter afterwards: “45 percent of the speakers/panelists at @MunSecConf are women. Anyway. Maybe the German economy is more the issue.” Joe Kaeser, former CEO of Siemens, also attended the meeting. Kaeser responded to the criticism and wrote in response to the many comments: “The ‘maybe’ can be deleted! We’ll do better next year. I will raise this at the MSC Advisory Committee feedback meeting tomorrow. W. Ischinger [Wolfgang Ischinger, Leiter der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz, Anm. d. Red.] has done great things. But one [kann] improve everything. If you have any feedback on the MSC, please let us know.”
Munich Security Conference CEO lunch raises questions about equality
The virologist Sandra Ciesek also shared the photo on Twitter and wrote under it: “Find the mistake at the CEO lunch at the MSC 2022.” She then created a survey, which probably also alluded to the lack of masks and distance rules to protect against the corona virus and asks, “What’s wrong here? No mask? No distance? No women? All?”
What is wrong here?
— Sandra Ciesek (@CiesekSandra) February 19, 2022
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The ex-Siemens boss Kaeser also commented on the allegations of not having complied with the distance and mask rules: “There is 2G+ and a PCR test every morning BEFORE the meetings begin. Otherwise it would actually be irresponsible.”
The photo may represent what is meant by the power of “old white men.” People who gain advantages in society and thus power through gender and skin color, but also often classism, and who often pass them on to their peers. It is not only about power, but also about perspectives that are not seen or heard through such structures – especially in the context of important decision-making processes. (df)
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