Ivanka Trump announced on Wednesday evening that she will lead a new White House initiative that aims to empower women economically around the world.
The Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP) aims to bring economic stability to 50 million women in developing countries by 2025, Ivanka Trump announced in an essay published Wednesday evening by The Wall Street Journal.
“This new initiative will for the first time coordinate America’s commitment to one of the most undervalued resources in the developing world ― the talent, ambition and genius of women,” the daughter and senior adviser to the president wrote.
The initiative will use a $50 million fund allocated from the U.S. Agency for International Development to create programs that will support women internationally in job training, navigating legal and regulatory issues, entrepreneurial skills and job entry and re-entry, among other things. The W-GDP will work with multiple government agencies including the State Department and the National Security Council, as well as team up with several private companies such as Walmart and UPS.
President Donald Trump will officially launch the initiative sometime Thursday.
“The economic empowerment of women shouldn’t be viewed as a ‘women’s issue.’ ... By investing in women, we are investing in a future in which countries can support themselves by unleashing the potential of their own people,” Ivanka Trump wrote.
The senior adviser to the president described women’s equality as a “crucial area” that both sides of the political aisle can agree on. She added in a Wednesday evening call with reporters that this initiative is in line with the U.S. being “the most generous” country in the world.
“‘America First’ does not mean ‘America Alone.’ We are proud to be the most generous nation in the world,” Ivanka Trump told The New York Times.
The initiative is a welcome step for an administration that has routinely prioritized national issues over cohesive global development. Additionally, President Trump’s track record on women’s issues, both in the U.S. and internationally, has consistently flailed.
The president has been accused of sexual misconduct ― ranging from harassment to assault and rape ― by 21 women and has categorically denied all allegations as “fake news.” Education Secretary Betsy DeVos rescinded Obama-era Title IX guidelines written to support survivors of sexual assault through the reporting process and is creating more protections for those accused of sexual misconduct and for universities’ bottom lines.
Globally, President Trump has rolled back access to safe and affordable reproductive health care by reinstating and massively expanding the Global Gag Rule. Vice President Mike Pence has also suggested that legal abortions in the U.S. “could end in our time.”
Head over to The Wall Street Journal to read Ivanka Trump’s essay in full.