To grow, cut gender gap: Ivanka Trump

Hyderabad: Ivanka Trump, US President Donald Trump’s daughter, on Tuesday said reducing the gender gap in the labour force by half can help boost the Indian economy by over $150 billion in the next three years and reiterated her father’s words that “India has a true friend in the White House”.

Speaking at the 8th annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit here, she said the conference was symbolic of the growing partnership between India and the US. “Just consider if India closes the labour force gender gap by half, your economy could grow by over $150 billion in the next three years,” she said.

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the dais, she congratulated Indians on celebrating 70 years of Independence. “You are celebrating it as the world’s largest democracy, and one of the fastest growing economies on the earth,” the adviser to the US President added.

The famous Hyderabadi biryani has finally got a serious contender, according to Ms Trump. Taking a cue from Telangana CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s remarks about  Hyderabadi biryani, Ms Trump said: “It’s wonderful to be in this ancient city brimming with transformative technology — now, your tech centres may even outshine your world-famous biryani.”

Ms Trump had done her homework on Hyderabad well. She noted that “CEOs like Microsoft’s Satya Nadella went to school right here in Hyderabad. Just a few kilometres away, T-hub’s brand new facility is set to open next year — and will become the largest incubator in Asia.”

She used Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s life trajectory to make a point: “From your (Mr Modi) childhood selling tea to your election as India’s Prime Minister, you’ve proven that transformational change is possible. And now you are bringing that promise to hundreds of millions of people across your country.” She added: “The people of India inspire us all.”

Ms Trump said Indian entrepreneurs are rewriting the rules through grit, perseverance and the will to succeed. “Each of you started with an idea. You’ve worked long days and nights to code the next robot, create the next app, find the next cure, and discover the next breakthrough to improve millions of lives. Some may have tried to convince you that the risk is too great — and the reward too small. But you are here today because you are not afraid to fail.  You want to own your future.”

She said for the first time ever women make up the majority of the 1,500 entrepreneurs selected to attend, Women must do more than their male counterparts to prove themselves at work, while also disproportionately caring for their families at home, she said. “Only when women are empowered to thrive will our families, our economies, and our societies reach their fullest potential,” she added.

In a speech that was punctuated by loud cheers from the audience, she lauded Mr Modi for his firm belief that “the progress of humanity is incomplete without the empowerment of women”. India, Ivanka noted, has opened new universities, its doctors and scientists are discovering medical cures and life-saving technologies,  its engineers and architects have built modern wonders that grace the skies, and Indian spacecraft have travelled to the moon and to Mars.

Ivanka said India’s hosting the Global Entrepreneurship Summit is “a symbol of the strengthened friendship between our two peoples, and the growing economic and security partnership between our two nations. As President Trump said earlier this year, India has a true friend in the White House”.