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‘My Father Is A Feminist’: Ivanka Trump Says Donald Trump Is A Feminist And Advocate For Women

By Tara West
Published on: 06:55 PST, Jul 7, 2016

Presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has sparked criticism in the past for making sexist remarks about women. However, Trump’s daughter Ivanka says that assumptions about her father being anti-woman are wrong and that her father is, in fact, a feminist. Ivanka Trump sat down with The Times and praised her father for making her the woman she is today.

Newsmax reports that Ivanka Trump gave an interview in which she revealed her father is a champion of women’s rights and a supporter of feminism. Ivanka told a reporter for the Times that she is “very proud” to call herself a feminist and that she is “100 percent” for gender equality.

“I believe 100 percent in gender equality, so, by definition, that makes me a feminist, which I am very proud of.”

Ivanka has a history of making feminist remarks, and her lifestyle brand is one way that the mother is hoping to break down negative stereotypes about women who work. In fact, Ivanka purposefully used the term “women who work” instead of “working women,” as she says that no one would call a man a “working man.”

In an interview about her lifestyle brand and father on Good Morning America, Ivanka revealed her feminist perspective.

“Nobody says ‘a working man,’ but they say, ‘a working woman.’ And there is still a strange connotation to that. So sort of debunking that and making it truly a celebration of women. Because I find that often times a conversation focused on gender can get very polarizing.”

Although it is not surprising to many that Ivanka Trump identifies as a feminist, it will surprise many to learn that Donald Trump also calls himself a feminist. Ivanka revealed that her father “is a feminist” and a supporter of equality for women.

“My father is a feminist. He’s a big reason I am the woman I am today.”

Ivanka says her father employed women at the highest levels in the Trump Organization and that he believes women are fully capable when it comes to business and the workforce.

“People talk about gender equality. He has lived it, he has employed women at the highest levels of the Trump Organization for decades, so I think it’s a great testament to how capable he thinks women are and has shown that his whole life.”

She notes that her father went to great lengths to ensure she had “strong female role models” growing up. Ivanka says that Trump told her from an early age that she could do anything she set her mind to so long as she had vision, passion, and a strong work ethic.

“He always told me and showed me that I could do anything I set my mind to if I married vision and passion with work ethic. He’s also surrounded me with strong female role models who have done just that since I was a little girl.”

Ivanka has taken up for her father on numerous occasions in regard to his “sexist” comments and behaviors. In an interview with the Atlantic, Ivanka laughed off allegations that her father was “a groper,” noting that Donald Trump has “total respect for women.” Ivanka pointed to her father as the one who “broke the glass ceiling in construction” for women by promoting women in the industry before it was ever even heard of. Although Trump did employ women in the construction industry well before it was common practice, it does not appear that Trump did so to encourage the advancement of women. Rather, Trump simply looked for the best candidate for the job despite gender.

What do you think about Ivanka Trump’s assessment that her father, Donald Trump, is a feminist? Does Donald Trump fit the mold of a feminist since he hires employees based on merit not gender, or is there more to feminism than his historical hiring practices?

[Photo by Paul Sancya/AP Images]

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