"Like from another world": Siko-Foto causes a stir - participants now announce consequences

Created: 02/21/2022, 10:36 am

By: Christina Denk

On the fringes of the Munich Security Conference, a photo of the CEO lunch caused criticism.

Not a single woman was to be seen.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks plainly.

Update from February 20, 3:15 p.m

.: A photo of the heads of commercial companies at lunch on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday caused a stir (see first report).

You can see a large, laid, U-shaped table at which around 30 men are having a business lunch - not a single woman among them.

Even a day after the publication of the picture, the excitement is great.

The Munich Security Conference finds it difficult to explain.

According to Siko, the final quota of women among the speakers in the main program of this year's conference was 45 percent.

In the group of top managers represented at the conference, the relationship was obviously different.

Ex-Siemens boss Joe Kaeser, who can also be seen in the photo, tweeted on Saturday: "We'll do better next year.

I will address this at the MSC Advisory Committee feedback meeting tomorrow.” After the meeting, Kaeser told the

that the group of men in the photo also resulted from the cancellation of women at the event.

All ten women who had registered were also invited.

However, eight women had canceled again.

One promised but didn't come.

Another was there, but could not be seen in the photo, said Kaeser.

Kaeser, who chairs the MSC Advisory Committee, announced he would change the invitation practice next year.

"We will very specifically invite women from the group of participants of the MSC ourselves and pay attention to a more balanced ratio."

Siko-Bild from Munich causes a stir: "Like from another world" - even Scholz speaks up

First report from February 19

: Munich – excitement on the sidelines of the security conference: At Siko in Munich, the Ukraine crisis was the number one topic.

Incidentally, however, no politicians provided anything to talk about.

A picture of the CEO lunch that was shot on the sidelines of the conference was criticized online.

The photo, which is circulating on Twitter, shows the bosses of various commercial companies having lunch.

You can see a large, laid, U-shaped table at which around 30 middle-aged men are having a business lunch - not a single woman among them.

The editor-in-chief of

, Michael Bröcker, took the photo and shared it on Twitter on Saturday.

He wrote: “45 percent of the speakers/panelists at the Munich Security Conference

are women.

Anyway.

Perhaps the German economy is more the issue.”

CEO Siko image causes criticism from politicians: "This image is like from another world"

SPD politician Sawsan Chebli tweeted: "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." Green politician Renate Künast wrote: "Is that seriously 22?"

Criticism also came from the director of public affairs at Deutsche Messe AG: "Then they say again that you couldn't find a suitable female CEO.

Service note: there are them and in the 2nd row there are quite a few..."

CEO picture causes excitement: ex-Siemens board promises improvement

According to the Munich Security Conference, the final proportion of women speakers in the main program of this year's conference is 45 percent.

In the group of top managers represented at the conference, the relationship is obviously different.

Joe Kaeser, former CEO of Siemens, who can also be seen in the photo, tweeted: "Next year we will do better.

I will raise this at the MSC Advisory Committee feedback meeting tomorrow.”

Twitter users also criticized the fact that the men in the photo were sitting close together despite the corona pandemic.

Kaeser clarified: “There is 2G+ and PCR testing every morning BEFORE the sessions begin.

Otherwise it would actually be irresponsible.”

On the edge of Siko: Olaf Scholz speaks of a "very, very big construction site" when it comes to women's quotas

Chancellor Olaf Scholz also called for more equality between women and men in a YouTube interview on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

When asked by the influencer Diana zur Löwen whether he was a feminist, Scholz replied on Saturday: "Yes - and I've been saying that for many years." It is important to make it clear to everyone that society is made up of half women and half men exist.

And there can only be a good coexistence if women and men have the same rights and the same opportunities in life, emphasized the SPD politician.

How difficult that is has been noticed in some debates in the past.

In the past legislative period, it took him a long time to persuade the coalition partner at the time that very few companies had to have at least one woman on the board.

This shows how the situation really is: "There is still a lot to do." This is still "a very, very big construction site."

"When I was in my early 20s and started doing politics, I honestly believed that we would have managed it in just under ten years, with real equality," says Scholz.

“Now I'm a little over 60 and it's still not that far, although a lot of progress has been made since then.

But we should be able to do that now.”

Equal rights in the economy: This is what the current quotas look like

What about equality?

According to the latest data from the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), at the end of 2021 there were 139 female board members in the 200 companies with the highest sales, 38 more than in the previous year.

The proportion of women thus rose by a good three percentage points to almost 15 percent.

"Women on the board of directors are still significantly underrepresented in many large companies, but the most recent development is very remarkable," says Katharina Wrohlich, head of the Gender Economics research group at DIW Berlin.

The increase is attributed to the new, statutory minimum participation, which has been in effect since the end of 2021.

You can read all other topics of Siko 2022 in the news ticker.

Minimum board participation

In listed and equally co-determined companies with more than 2000 employees and more than three executive boards, at least one woman or one man must sit on the executive board.

This must be taken into account when filling positions.

The law also changes the rules for other listed or co-determined companies that do not fall under the minimum requirement: In future, they should have to justify if they plan to have no women on their board - i.e. if they specify a "zero target" in their reports .