On Equal Pay Day, Ivanka Trump is speaking out about the lack of women pursuing science, engineering, math and technology jobs (STEM).
Trump, who describes herself as a “passionate advocate for the education and empowerment of women and girls,” made the comments during a panel at the White House Tuesday. She said that even though women make up 48% of today’s workforce, just 24% of people in STEM fields are women. “When you think about where the jobs of the future are coming from, that’s a very frightening statistic and we’re actually moving in the wrong direction,” she said.
Trump added that it’s important to think about the ways in which girls are introduced to STEM subjects at school and make sure they are “really participating in these fields.” She continued: “When we think about equal pay and the challenge we have to finally level the playing field, I think this will be a very important component.”
#EqualPayDay is a reminder that women deserve equal pay for equal work. We must work to close the gender pay gap! https://t.co/CcwsoBXWdF
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) April 4, 2017
Just a few days ago, Trump and President Donald Trump’s Education Secretary Betsy DeVos discussed the gender gap in STEM after leading a tour of the National Air and Space Museum. Speaking to a group of middle school students, Trump dared the group “to beat these statistics and advance the role of women in STEM fields.” Trump herself is planning to take a coding class with her five-year-old daughter, Arabella, this summer, ABC reports.