It seems like Ivanka Trump isn’t even pushing forward a good agenda on her “signature issue.” Apparently, the Trump administration is planning to end an Obama-era policy aimed at preventing pay discrimination. The “Women Who Work” advocate even supports this change. Boo.
So, what’s the deal? The Obama-era rule makes it a requirement for business owners to document how much they pay their employees–and they would also have to include the employee’s gender, race, and ethnicity, which makes it possible for the government to see where discrimination happens.
Despite that this seems like a good rule, the Trump administration is getting rid of the measure, as reported by Newsweek. The reason? Itwould have been too much time and paper for employers. Neomi Raom, an administrator from the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, said: “It’s enormously burdensome. We don’t believe it would actually help us gather information about wage and employment discrimination.”
I’m sorry that progress takes actual work. Ivanka, who is supposedly an advocate for women, agrees with this, having said:
“Ultimately, while I believe the intention was good and agree that pay transparency is important, the proposed policy would not yield the intended results.”
If Ivanka really believes in pay transparency, how does she propose to fix it? As far as I know, she has never made any statements making any real suggestions, and her book is basically one giant misquote of other people’s words and faux inspirational jargon written for wealthy women, rather than any kind of real blueprint for change.
Need I remind you that her book was panned at most sites for being a “simpering milkshake of a book,” because it didn’t say anything (and yes, we have a copy here). Kveller editor Sarah Seltzer summed it up in one sentence:
“The biggest targets are the writer’s (or ghostwriters, as the case may be) obliviousness to her own immense privilege, as well as the use of quotes from people like Toni Morrison on slavery to illustrate mundane issues like… answering too many emails.”
Bryce Covert at ThinkProgress also made a poignant observation:
“The book would be a mostly harmless self-help manual for the 1 percent if it weren’t for the fact that through it, and through her official White House role, Trump is purporting to lead the charge in changing women’s place in society.”
Actual working women responded to Ivanka’s book here–and honestly, it’s worth the watch–after all, they would know best:
