The head of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has welcomed a ruling by the Swiss media regulator that found a newspaper headline describing her as a “grandmother” after her appointment to lead the body, was gender-biased.
Aargauer Zeitung newspaper ran the headline: “This grandmother will become the boss of the WTO,” after Ms Okongo-Iweala was appointed in March.
The paper apologised following widespread criticism saying its headline had been “inappropriate and unsuitable”.
Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, a Nigerian-American, is a widely respected Harvard-educated development economist. She served as finance and foreign affairs minister in Nigeria and worked for 25 years at the World Bank.
The 67-year-old is the first African and woman to lead WTO.
She tweeted on Thursday that the Swiss Press Council was right for calling out gender bias and sexism.
