What Ivanka Trump’s new initiative overlooks about women’s empowerment
Winnie Byanyima is executive director of Oxfam International.
Last week, first daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump unveiled a new global initiative to empower women. The Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative, as it is called, pledges to help 50 million women in the developing world by 2025.
Thus far, $50 million has been allocated to it, provoking criticism for undervaluing the scale of change needed. But this initiative will not succeed or fail on its budget alone. What will be vital is the extent to which it tackles the structural barriers that keep women around the world from reaching their economic potential and truly being able to thrive.
The initiative comes in the shadow of the Trump administration’s rather negative and dangerous narratives on women and international development. President Trump has repeatedly sought cuts to foreign aid, including what we estimate to be a 35 percent cut for gender equality programs. He has championed the global gag rule that restricts women’s access to reproductive health care, endangering the lives of women and children. And he has attempted to change asylum rules to deny refuge for women fleeing domestic violence.