Don’t Believe Ivanka: Trump Doesn’t Fight For Gender Equality
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While Ivanka Trump introduced her father on Thursday as a “gender-neutral” candidate who champions women’s equality in the workplace, the Republican nominee’s campaign operations, platform, and stated political beliefs tell a different story.
“As president, my father will change the labor laws that were put in place at a time when women were not a significant portion of the workforce,” Ivanka said during her speech at the final night of the Republican National Convention. “He will fight for equal pay for equal work.”
Contrary to her comments, though, the party platform passed earlier this week with Trump’s approval — and under the observation of his advisors — does little to combat issues like wage inequality or family leave. In fact, it doesn’t mention either one of those topics at all.
Instead, much of the language on gender issues in the Republican platform looks to “affirm the dignity of women” by opposing abortion, a practice that it rejects as a health care measure.
More specifically, the GOP opposes using government funds to perform or promote abortion, including funding Planned Parenthood and similar organizations — who, according to the RNC, “sell fetal body parts rather than [providing] health care.” That comment is a sly reference to a video hoax which purported to show Planned Parenthood officials discussing fetal tissue prices.
It’s not just abortion that Republicans find dangerous, though: According to the document, certain over-the-counter contraceptives (not named by the platform) are also a threat to women’s health.
And the only workplace the platform mentions with regard to gender equality is the military, though Republicans in fact want to keep enlisted women from performing the same work as men; they oppose “unnecessary policy changes” that would make women eligible for the draft and keep them away from the front lines of combat — a shift that was approved by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter in March.
While the platform is officially the expression of the Republican Party and not its presidential nominee, it still reflects on Trump and his priorities. His campaign added aggressively protectionist trade policies (to the point that many in the GOP aren’t on board) — it also took a decidedly hands-off approach on social issues.
Besides calling for the appointment of judges who oppose abortion, the Republican platform stands against the U.N. Convention on Women’s Rights, a historic document ratified by 189 countries (but not yet the U.S.) that looks to secure political, economic, social and marriage rights for women.
During Ivanka’s Thursday RNC speech, she also hailed her father for promoting gender equality in his own business, declaring that wage equality has been “a practice at his company throughout his entire career.”
Though statistics aren’t public about the Trump empire itself, his campaign operations don’t match up with Ivanka’s claim.
A Boston Globe investigation in April found that men in Trump’s campaign made on average $1600 more than women per month, or 35 percent more — that’s larger than the national gender pay gap. (For comparison, the gender pay gap between men and women in Hillary Clinton’s campaign is an average of $70.)
Ivanka claimed that more women than men are executives in Trump’s businesses, but, again, that doesn’t apply when it comes to his campaign: Just two of the highest-paid officials in his campaign for the month of April were women.
The Globe’s numbers are consistent, however, with Trump’s rare public comments on the issue.
Last July, he hinted on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” that he opposes adjusting women’s pay in order to achieve equal pay.
“When you have to categorize men and women into a particular group and a particular pay scale, it gets very — because people do different jobs,” he said. “It’s very hard to say what is the same job. It’s a very, very tricky question.” By fighting to remove gender from the picture, rather than fighting for women’s rights, his views only seem to perpetuate gender inequality.
On paid family leave, he’s expressed a similar hesitation towards actually pushing for a change to the established, but unfair, system. “I think we have to keep our country very competitive, so you have to be careful of it,” he said on Fox News in October.
But both the platform and his own campaign lack any specific policies on these issues. It’s difficult to see a President Trump achieving anything approaching an equal workplace for women.
Photo: Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump greets his daughter Ivanka as he arrives to speak during the final session at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. July 21, 2016. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Does anybody actually know Trump’s real policy positions. They seem to change constantly.
They don’t actually change – he has no positions. His plan is to outsource the presidency to Pence if he wins and go on a world victory tour.
Funny, and maybe true!
Subject: Re: Comment on Don’t Believe Ivanka: Trump Doesn’t Fight For Gender Equality
Riiiight! Take Teo Armus’s Columbia University frat boy’s word for it that the ideal image for a successful millennial woman is not Ivanka Trump (and other women wildly succeeding currently as managers in the Trump organization) but the better choice……Hillary and Bill Clinton’s path of mentorship for young women…….using them like toys until they destroy them once they’ve serve their purpose and toss them like garbage bags to the wayside after victimizing them, sexually, emotionally and physically.
Just like you, Trump has even taught his children how to lie and fabricate reality. How sad, that worthless people like you seem to be okay with all the fear, bigotry, misogyny and hate rhetoric that was spewed over the disastrous 4 days of a colossally ignorant Republican National Convention!!!
Some frat boy, here is his resume. Doesn’t sound like a frat boy. Then again you are so biased against the Clintons that you will not even look at this.
Teo Armus
Student at Columbia University
Location New York, New York Industry Online Media Edit experience
Current Eastern Harbor Media, LLC,
Columbia Daily Spectator,
Columbia University Residential Life Edit experience
Previous Columbia Daily Spectator,
PSFK Edit experience
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Education Columbia University in the City of New York Edit education
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Background
Experience
Editorial Intern, The National Memo
Eastern Harbor Media, LLCJune 2016 – Present (2 months)Greater New York City Area
-Report and write political news and analysis for a website and newsletter with over 450,000 subscribers
-Package and distribute syndicated columns, cartoons and high-performing content from previous months
Staff Writer
Columbia Daily SpectatorOctober 2014 – Present (1 year 10 months)
-Report and write 1-2 articles a week on activism and sexual assault, as well as other topics including local neighborhood news and research
-Covered a student fossil fuel divestment sit-in as an embedded reporter, remaining inside an administrative building for 80 consecutive hours
-Reported and wrote for a collaborative multimedia project on the 30-year history of sexual assault activism at Barnard and Columbia
See all of my 100+ bylines here: http://columbiaspectator.com/contributors/Teo-Armus
(Open)1 honor or awardNational Finalist, Mark of Excellence for In-Depth Reporting
One of three national finalists for the Small School Division Winner of In-Depth Reporting, Small School Division for Region 1 (New England & Mid-Atlantic) “A History of Red Tape” with Annie Bryan & Catie Edmondson…View
Resident Advisor
Columbia University Residential LifeAugust 2015 – Present (1 year)
-Build a residential community for 40 first-year students through formal and informal programming
-Serve as a counselor and resource for residents with academic, personal, or institutional concerns
-Enforce residential policy as part of a team of 11 resident advisors in the dorm
Deputy News Editor & Senior Staff Writer
Columbia Daily SpectatorDecember 2014 – January 2016 (1 year 2 months)
-Served as editor and lead reporter for coverage of undergraduate student life at Columbia
-Pitched, oversaw and edited 6-8 articles weekly
-Coordinated accompanying photos, graphics, and other multimedia
-Managed a staff of 4-7 beat writers
-Wrote and reported breaking news and investigative pieces, particularly on sexual assault and student activism
See all of my 100+ bylines here: http://columbiaspectator.com/contributors/Teo-Armus
(Open)1 honor or awardRegional Finalist, Mark of Excellence for Breaking News Reporting
One of three regional finalists for the Small School Division for Region 1 (New England & Mid-Atlantic) “AAU nationwide survey validates average of 1 in 5 female undergraduates report experiencing sexual assault,” with Dan Garisto…View
Editorial Intern
PSFKJune 2015 – August 2015 (3 months)Greater New York City Area
-Wrote approximately 5 articles per week for a news site focused on innovation, tech, and design
-Created a daily roundup of top aggregated content and developed this roundup into a newsletter for subscribers
-Assisted with social media posts, search engine optimization, and packaging branded content
Education
Columbia University in the City of New York
Bachelor’s Degree2014 – 2018
Dean’s List, Spring 2016
Activities and Societies: Columbia Daily Spectator, National Residence Hall Honorary, John Jay Hall Council (President)
Horace Mann School
High School2010 – 2014
Activities and Societies: Horace Mann Record (Editor in Chief), Model Congress (Vice President), Horace Mann Theater Company, Upper Division Orientation
(Open)1 honor or awardUniversity of Chicago Book Award
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Medill-Northwestern Journalism Institute
2013 – 2013
He’s a college kid……do you let kids run your life? I found it amusing how Teo lists his undergraduate degree: “Bachelor’s Degree 2014-2018”, as if he’s already received it. Or maybe he’s a time traveler and took a little road trip ahead in time to confirm he did in fact make it to graduation day! Toga party!!
He wrote an article, you classify him as a frat boy but there is no proof that he belongs to a fraternity. Just another example of your unfounded and unproven claims. He is half way to his degree and given his prior school history he most likely will get his degree in 2018. Is this all you can rant about, you are just another pathetic angry man.
No….just pointing out the pretentious nature of a college kid in resume posting his undergraduate degree as a “done deal” two years before it potentially occurs.
That’s your biased interpretation of what he has in his resume, that he is in a Bachelor’s Degree program and due to graduate in 2018. He is not claiming that he has a degree and has not even listed his major. There is nothing pretentious about this. You however labeled him a “frat boy” trying to belittle him for writing an article.
An open message to The Donald:
Hey, Squire. I’d date her too – if she wasn’t brain-dead.
Looking at the photo at the top of this article and recalling what he has said about dating her, I can’t help wondering where his hand would be if that photo had been snapped just one second later.