Ivanka Trump's New Global Initiative Is Focusing On Empowering Women In All Fields
Leading up to the 2019 State of the Union on Tuesday, Feb. 5, most of us were unsure of what exactly the future of 2019 would unveil. Following the month-long government shutdown, the new year was already off to a rocky start, but it looks like some actual change might be happening in 2019 thanks to Ivanka Trump's White House global women's initiative. Here's more about it.
On Thursday, Feb. 7, Ivanka Trump announced that she and her father Donald Trump are officially launching the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative, which is a governmentwide project that will involve the State Department, National Security Council, and other agencies, per the Associated Press. According to the AP, this initiative plans to coordinate current programs dedicated to assisting women globally while also developing new reform programs for women in job training, financial support, and legal fields.
"We think women are arguably the most under-tapped resource in the developing world for accelerating economic growth and prosperity," Trump told the AP. Elite Daily reached out to Trump's team for more details on the initiative, but did not hear back in time for publication.
This may be good news to hear, but it's still up in the air exactly what this initiative specifically aims to do in regards to assisting women globally. However, Trump plans to attend the Munich Security Conference from Feb. 16 through Feb. 18 to promote the project, so we might get more details about it then. For now, what do we know is that U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will set up a $50 million fund and partner with Pepsi Company to assist women in India. The USAID will also sign an agreement designed to help female entrepreneurs export goods globally, per the AP.
If this initiative sounds vaguely familiar, that might be because Donald Trump spoke briefly about this plan during the State of the Union on Feb. 5. Well, as of Feb. 7, Donald Trump will sign a national security memorandum and officially launch the initiative. I have to say, that sure was quick.
Reports of Trump's initiative initially started making waves in early January, around the time it was supposed to launch. However, plans to launch the initiative ended up delayed due to the government shutdown that kicked off on Dec. 22, 2018, and lasted until Jan. 28. Better late than never, I suppose.
Throughout Donald Trump's campaign and presidency, Ivanka Trump has made women's rights and gender equality one of her main platforms. In September 2017, Trump spearheaded a successful initiative that got the Department of Education to invest $200 million in STEM and computer science programs in schools, according to CNN. Also in September 2017, Trump's charitable organization provided $100,000 of grants to The Boys & Girls Club of America's STEM program for girls. However, her efforts haven't been always been successful. Trump's plans to champion for equal pay and paid maternal leave didn't go over so well, seeing as the proposal didn't pass in 2017 and not much has been done to move it forward since then.
While Trump may not have lived up to all of her promises, let's hope this new initiative actually makes some much needed change around the world. Girl power, baby.
