By Arinjoy Chaudhury
For the first time in its history, the Global Entrepreneurial Summit was held in South Asia. The three-day long initiative was inaugurated in Hyderabad, Telangana by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was attended by prominent global female leaders such as former first lady of the UK Cherie Blair, ICICI Bank’s Chanda Kochhar and Dell’s CCO Karen Quintos. Academicians, activists, scholars and entrepreneurs from all across the globe attended this Summit. The theme was “Women first, prosperity for all”. There were discussions on a plethora of issues concerning science and technology, business and commerce, women’s initiatives and their impact.
Ivanka Trump: A notable presence
The Summit was a joint initiative between the Indian and the U.S governments. Ivanka Trump, being one of the prominent advisors to President Trump, was seen as the leading representative of the U.S government there. She lobbied for women’s rights and economic empowerment even as she drew criticism from human rights advocates back home for the ill-treatment of global workers who produce her brand-name products.
Ivanka Trump spoke at the opening of the three-day Global Entrepreneurship Summit, emphasising on the necessity of women-led initiatives in the world. Trump, a businesswoman herself, brought to light how closing the gender entrepreneurship gap worldwide could raise the global GDP by 2%. “Only when women are empowered to thrive will our families, our economies and our societies reach their fullest potential,” she said.
A controversial position
Some advocacy groups back home, however, were dismissive of Trump’s pitch. Li Qiang, executive director of New York-based China Labor Watch, said women workers in China who manufactured products for the Ivanka Trump brand have failed to receive legal wages. “Ivanka has the responsibility to find these workers and ensure they are paid in full,” he said. “Ivanka’s profits include the wages of these workers.” Robert Weissman, president of Washington D.C.-based Public Citizen, tweeted that Trump “has failed to address the brutal reality (that) clothes and shoes produced by her brand’s suppliers, which outsource all their production overseas, are often manufactured under abusive conditions.”
Ivanka Trump was provided with a royal treatment in India, and Hyderabad prepared itself for her by cleaning up its streets, banning begging and shuffling thousands of street people into shelters or rehab.
Towards a level playing field
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed the importance of women in Indian economics and culture and noted that the Indian Constitution guarantees one-third representation to women in local governments. Ivanka commended Prime Minister Modi for lifting 130 million people from poverty under his leadership. But she said that in developing countries, 70% of women-owned small and mid-sized businesses have no access to working capital. In many countries, women are not allowed to own property, travel freely or work without the consent of their husbands. She said we must ensure women entrepreneurs have access to capital, networks, mentors, and to equitable laws. She praised her father’s administration, saying it promotes greater opportunities for women around the world through “domestic reforms and our international initiatives.” The US Small Business Administration, for example, increased lending to women by over $500 million in 2017, she said.
An overall success
The Summit saw a number of accomplished women such as Miss World Manushi Chillar, Anita Dongre and Elizabeth Gore, to name a few, who gave inspiring speeches. All in all, the Summit was regarded as a big success as it shed light on a number of important issues and was able to assemble women and men, who have positively impacted the world with their work, together under one roof. With regards to diplomacy, this joint Summit puts another feather in the cap for Indo-U.S ties.
Featured Image Source: PMINDIA
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