On Thursday afternoon, the White House will officially launch the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative, a project led by Ivanka Trump focused at helping 50 million women in the developing world get ahead economically by 2025.
"We think women are arguably the most under-tapped resource in the developing world for accelerating economic growth and prosperity," the first daughter and White House senior advisor told the Associated Press.
The State Department, the National Security Council, and other agencies will take part in the project, which aims to help women in areas such as job training and entrepreneurship. There are corporate partners, too, including Pepsi Co., UPS, and Walmart.
The initiative will be bankrolled both publicly and privately, including by a $50 million starter fund from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), an agency for which President Trump has tried to cut funding.
Ivanka told reporters that the program does not clash with her father’s "America First" motto. "’America First’ does not mean ‘America Alone,’" she said according to a New York Times report. "We are proud to be the most generous nation in the world."
Next week, Ivanka will attend the Munich Security Conference in Germany to promote the initiative and discuss its connection to national security.
Ivanka has made women’s global economic empowerment one of her star issues throughout her tenure at the White House. Earlier this year, a bipartisan women’s economic empowerment bill for which she advocated became law. The bill aims to provide support for women-led ventures in developing countries and help them overcome barriers to economic growth, such as gender-based violence and limited access to education and healthcare.
We reached out to Ivanka Trump’s spokesperson for more details and will update this story when we hear back.
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Source: Refinery29