"Her personal Twitter account qualifies itself as “the ultimate destination for #WomenWhoWork." Image: Twitter
Donald Trump’s already limited credibility continues to disintegrate daily. Melania has been called out for working in the USA while on a tourist visa. The Trump brothers are raising the ire of animal lovers in response to their big-game hunting photos.
Now it’s Ivanka Trump’s turn to be in hot water.
Ms. Trump functions as a surrogate for her father. Yet, on August 8, she became the center of her own fray when The Washington Post ran the story, “Ivanka Trump champions working moms — except the ones who design her clothes.”
At the RNC convention, Ms. Trump came across as deeply concerned about the issues facing working women. She offered a litany of statistics on wage inequality (although there was no mention of the far larger gap for women of color).
Stating that motherhood was the greatest impediment to women in the quest for paycheck fairness, Ms. Trump promised that her father would change the labor laws, and make “quality childcare affordable and accessible to all.”
Ms. Trump said, “I will fight for equal pay for equal work right alongside... him [Donald Trump].”
After pointing to her creds as a mother of three young children, Ms. Trump discussed the difficulty of achieving a work/life balance. She did acknowledge that she was “far more fortunate than most.”
“Policies that allow women with children to thrive should not be novelties. They should be the norm,” Ms. Trump pronounced.
Ms. Trump had entered into the national conversation.
In America, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides 12 weeks of medical leave — unpaid. There is no federally mandated parental leave in our country, and this has been a prime political topic. Hillary Clinton has been outspoken on her plan to support paid maternity leave.
The disconnect creating an optics problem for Ms. Trump is her partnership with G-III, a licensing company which designs, manufactures, and markets an extensive collection for her. They offer employees three months of unpaid leave after the birth of a child.
Defenders of Ms. Trump have been quick to point out that her “personal” company, which bears her name, offers eight weeks of paid maternity leave. It also allows for flexible time schedules and vacations.
Like her father’s apparel merchandise, reporting shows that China and Vietnam manufacture the majority of products. Ms. Trump appeared in one of the G-III dresses for her RNC speech. The next day she tweeted out a link to purchase the garment.
Ms. Trump is working to bolster her father’s image among women. She also offers herself up as a go-to person on working women’s issues. Her personal Twitter account qualifies itself as “the ultimate destination for #WomenWhoWork. Her website — which appears out of sync with the average working-mother demographic — offers tips on how to be “inspired and empowered” in all aspects of their lives. She is authoring an upcoming book entitled Women Who Work: Rewriting the Rules for Success.
Unfortunately, business opportunities and politics don’t always mix.
