A photograph shared by U.S. Vice President Michael Pence on his official Twitter account on Thursday drew harsh criticism, as no women or a person of color was present in the health care meeting.
"Appreciated joining @POTUS for meeting with the Freedom Caucus again today. This is it. #PassTheBill," Pence wrote in his tweet.
Appreciated joining @POTUS for meeting with the Freedom Caucus again today. This is it. #PassTheBill pic.twitter.com/XG6lQIy5a6
— Vice President Pence (@VP) March 23, 2017
The photograph depicted a meeting attended by President Donald Trump and members of the House Freedom Caucus, during which health care issues for men and women, including maternity leave, were discussed.
Democrats, women's groups and liberals took the issue to social media to express their discomfort.
Democratic Senator Patty Murray was one of the first to fire off an ironic tweet, calling the photograph "a rare look inside the GOP's women health caucus."
"Women are 51% of the pop. yet 0% of the people in the room influencing decisions on maternity and reproductive care," a Twitter user wrote, while another questioned if a "room full of white men in the same grey suit" was the equivalent for freedom.
Trump's Social Media Advisor Dan Scavino immediately shared a women-friendly photograph of Trump and Pence as a response to the backlash.
In January, U.S. President Trump was also harshly criticized as he posed for a photograph with the abortion law he just signed, surrounded only by men.
Saudi Arabia's first Women's Council also became the target of criticism in U.S. media, as a photograph of the meeting emerged with no women attending.
