Ivanka Trump secured a $50 million commitment from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative during her official visit to the country.
The said program spearheaded by Trump, who is also the informal adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, aims to provide financial assistance to women’s businesses around the world. According to the World Bank’s official website, We-Fi “will help women in developing countries gain increased access to the finance, markets, and networks necessary to start and grow a business.”
Despite securing the pledge from the prime minister, Trump received a lukewarm welcome at the World Assembly for Women in Tokyo wherein she delivered a speech focusing on the Trump administration’s plan to allow paid family leave and have a tax reform that would “put more money back in the pockets of hard-working Americans.”
Many were critical of Trump’s comments condemning sexual harassment against women particularly since her father was previously accused of sexual offenses by several women, Newsweek reported.
“All too often, our workplace culture fails to treat women with appropriate respect,” Trump said to the audience. “This takes many forms, including harassment, which can never be tolerated.”
Additionally, the 36-year-old entrepreneur and mother of two did not address concerns about the unfair treatment of workers at factories in China and Indonesia that produced clothing items for her Ivanka Trump fashion brand.
During Trump’s speech, the room was only half full. While it was initially perceived as a reflection of the Japanese population’s public view of President Trump, authorities explained that the low turnout at the event was due to security arrangements. According to the Irish Times , White House spokesman Josh Raffel explained that while many registered to attend Trump’s speech, not everyone was allowed entrance as doors had to be shut down during her’s and Prime Minister Abe’s speeches for security reasons.
Ivanka Trump has been making great strides in promoting women’s rights. In Japan, the first daughter is generally well admired by the public, with many Japanese women considering her a great role model. But her efforts have constantly been overshadowed by allegations of sexual assault and negative public opinion against her father.
A survey conducted by Pew Research Center last month showed that less than a quarter of the Japanese population is confident that the POTUS will “do the right thing in world affairs,” which is 54 percent less than the confidence rating Barack Obama attained last year.
[Featured Image by Kimimasa Mayama/AP Images]
