Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala reported for her historic duty at the Geneva office of the World Trade Organisation on Monday with trademark fashion statement: decked in African wax fabric.
Pictures posted online showed the first African woman to head the WTO, arriving the office in a three-piece ankara ensemble.
She was received by officials of the organization
She already indicated some of her priorities, saying she would back efforts among member countries to agree on fisheries subsidies that could reduce overfishing.
In her brief Address before the resumption of duty, Iweala reiterated that she was coming into one of the most important institutions in the world but expressed optimism that her team will do a lot in changing the narratives while assuring that she feels all ready to go.
The two-time former Nigerian finance minister started work with a distractive controversy generated by a Dutch newspaper, which had derogatorily referred to her as the ‘grandmother new chief of WTO’.
The paper was heavily criticised for the sexism and racism by UN Women Leaders and the 124 Ambassadors in Geneva.
The paper was forced to apologise.
Okonjo-Iweala tweeted the apology on Monday and thanked all the people who had petitioned the paper while pointing out the need to always call out that sort of behavior whenever it happens. She further reavealed that her book Women & Leadership coauthored with @JuliaGillard talks about – the stereotypes women face when they take on leadership positions which has been a major challenge for hard working women accross the globe.
0
0
