Trump and mike pompeo on developing Womens Global Development and prosperity office at the prosperity office. They were joined by several members of congress and white house officials at the womens Global Environment womens global empowerment summit. It runs an hour. [applause] ivanka good morning, everyone. Good morning everyone. I am the ambassador. We are honored to have leaders across the u. S. Government in attendance for the inaugural meeting of the Student Committee of the white houses Womens Global Development and prosperity initiative. Thank you for coming. Tois my great pleasure introduce our wonderful secretary of state, mike pompeo to open our discussion. Mpeo i am thrilled to announce ambassador curry will be heading this. Congratulations. [applause] it is a privilege. It is joyous for me to be here inauguralick off this committee meeting, and the host everyone of you here today. Our country was founded on the self evidence idea and truth that every man and woman is endowed by creator with a set of inalienable rights to achieve his or her godgiven potential. It is something we all, regardless of our political , agree on. Womens achievements are americans achievements. This is a historical and tangible expression of our founding values. Through this initiative, american interests are about having more prosperous neighbors. A goal at the heart of american foreignpolicy in this administration. The need for the w tdp is clear. Have kept theers women from opportunities in far too many parts of the world. Tomorrow i will leave for my trip to subsaharan africa. I look forward to meeting with met last i know ivanka year when she was in ethiopia. An ethiopian weaver met with our usaid to expand her local business to 500 employees. A true testament to the effectiveness and goodness that comes from the programs. If we succeed, there can be many stories like hers. Thank you all for being here. Ambassador, i am looking forward to working with you and our team. Thank you, mr. Secretary. It is my great pleasure to introduce my partner in crime, you ivanka trump, advisor to the president. [applause] secretary, i could say that sarah will blow you away, which she has been able to do over the last decade, to go from a small investor to an employer of hundreds of women that she teaches these skills skills to. Really an amazing story. Just for being here, and for supporting the dedicated men and women at the state department, and for your leadership and forging a legacy of full diplomacy around the world. Forward toing continuing to partner with you. That we comenored together to celebrate the oneYear Anniversary of the Womens Global Development and prosperity initiative. Dp. O known as wt these opportunities allow us to highlight the incredible work being done by all of you and your team. And also set new goals to drive us into the future. We are at excited to announce the state departments new role as lead coordinating Agency Working to support the white house continued direction on policy. The state department will establish a dedicated team to dp under the incredible leadership of ambassador kelly. States diplomatic and policy expertise is incredibly critical to all elements of the wgdp initiative. Particularly as a relates to driving legal and regulatory reforms that are so important to sustainable change across the world. I want to thank you secretary , ando, ambassador curry the many others across the state department who share this priority and are committed to his committed to the success of wgdp. I would like to thank the administrator for his incredible leadership on this initiative. Thank you, mark. You have been working with us since day one. Last year launched a dedicated wgdp fund. Program management expertise is essential for this to be successful. Thrilled towe were announce that wgdp got its own line item in the 2020 in december, we were thrilled to announce that wgdp got its own line item in the 2020 omnibus bill, which is truly incredible for a young initiative, and signals the strong bipartisan support we have been fortunate to receive in collaboration on this initiative with members across the aisle on the hill since its inception. This past week, the president reaffirmed his commitment to this initiative in the 2021 budget, which doubles the allocation to wgdp. So many individuals in this room have worked tirelessly over the past several years to get this initiative off the ground. I would like to thank everyone around this table for prioritizing womens Economic Empowerment efforts across your agencies and departments. Wgdps success relies on the hard work that you and your team put forward every day. So thank you all. I also want to recognize and thank senator Lindsey Graham and senator Jeanne Shaheen for joining us here today. You have both been instrumental in the creation of this initiative from day one and have really worked with us on developing it based on your experiences and making it what it is. We first worked together on womens peace and security legislation, and subsequent to that, the womens entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment act, and have built very constructive relationships based on trust and a shared mission and a shared goal, which is why i am particularly pleased to be able to announce today that we will be introducing Bipartisan Legislation in the senate to promote the empowerment, development, and prosperity of women globally, aptly named the wgdp act. This legislation would permanently authorize wgdp and establish womens Economic Empowerment as a core facet of u. S. Foreign policy, in line with the president s own National Security strategy. The Womens Global Development and prosperity act will also permanently elevate these efforts at the state department by establishing for the First Time Ever in legislation an office of womens empowerment led by an ambassador at large. Since the bush administration, there have been continuous efforts to codify the role of women as a Foreign Policy priority. This white house looks forward to working closely with congress and passing wgdp legislation and realizing this long overdue goal. We thank you for your partnership and your commitment to helping us get this done. I would also like to recognize and thank representative mccaul. Thank you, representative. And his counterpart in the house, representative lois frankel. I am happy to be able to announce that under their leadership they will be introducing a companion bill in the house of representatives in the coming days, and we thank you again for your steadfast commitment to advancing this work. Thank you. Thank you for being here. To put all of this in a little bit of context, last february the president signed the National Security president ial memorandum to officially launch wgdp. Wgdp is the firstever government coordinated approach to womens Economic Empowerment across the agencies. This also established an ambitious goal of reaching 50 million women across the developing world by 2025. Today, we will release the first annual wgdp report in front of everyone today, detailing our impact, and i am beyond excited to be able to announce we have reached over 12 million women in the last year alone. [applause] really amazing. All of this through Innovative New programs and projects across all three of the wgdp pillars, all of which is itemized in the report. One of the key components of wgdp is recognizing the role of both the public and private sector in achieving largescale and lasting results. The private sector is a critical partner in our mission as we seek to address barriers to womens economic inclusion. I would like to call out a few of our partners that were with us since inception, including mastercard, visa, and ups, for helping us generate this tremendous impact. These partnerships have made it possible to source and scale innovative, new projects across all three of the pillars. Under pillar one, we are advancing Workforce Development and Vocational Education for women by equipping them with the necessary skills to secure jobs in their local economies and to enhance the productivity of the work that they are doing. We have launched programs like women connect, a call for solutions to improve womens participation in everyday life by meaningfully changing the way women and girls access and use technology. Through this program, usaid has awarded over 2. 9 million to 12 grantees working to bridge the gender divide in their countries. In pillar number two, we are empowering women to succeed as entrepreneurs. We know womenowned or womenrun businesses make up a third of small to Mediumsized Enterprises in emerging markets, yet some of the greatest obstacles to growth include insufficient access to capital, mentorships, and trading markets. Through initiatives launched by this administration, such as the wgdp iix challenge, we galvanized g7 nations to join us in committing 3 billion to the worlds women, and through the world bank womens entrepreneur finance initiative, which the u. S. Was a Founding Member of, we have mobilized more than 2. 6 billion to date from 14 separate countries. This weekend, i will travel with ambassador curry, the World Bank President , and the imf managing director to the summit in dubai. With the help of many in this room, we are making historic progress on closing the gender credit gap and empowering Women Entrepreneurs to create jobs in their communities and economies. Finally, and very importantly, maybe the most important, pillar three recognizes the central role of a Legal Framework that enables women to thrive by eliminating legal and societal barriers that prevent women from fully participating in the economy. Today, in 90 countries around the world, there are still laws on the books that restrict womens abilities to work in the same jobs and sectors as men, oftentimes in the Predominant Industries in those countries. In 75 countries, there is at least one law that prohibits women from owning, managing, or inheriting property. We can and must address these discriminatory laws and regulations. To that end, two of the most significant milestones we have seen are the governments that have amended laws to promote womens Economic Empowerment through addressing womens property and land rights. We commend those governments for making these important and bold reforms. The United States stands eager and ready to work with every country willing to take action to address discriminatory legal and regulatory barriers that hold women back and impede economic progress for all. In a landmark report that was also issued today, the White House Council of economic advisors, and thank you, thomas, for being here, estimates that fully addressing the five legal barriers to wgdp, accessing institutions, building credit, owning and managing property, traveling freely, and removing employment restrictions, could increase annual global gdp by 7. 7 trillion, 8. 3 . It is a really amazing report, and we suggest everyone take a close look at it. In the coming year, we can work to empower millions of women to lift their families out of poverty, grow the economies in their country, reduce dependence, and deliver on the promise of Greater Peace and prosperity. I look forward to working with each of you around this table as we advance this ambitious goal. Now, i would like to turn it over to my dear friend, senator graham, to follow up with a few words. Thank you, senator. Sen. Graham thank you, very much. I dont know where to start, other than to say thank you to ivanka and her team for not taking no for an answer. It is just easier to pass this bill than to meet with her all the time. [laughter] ms. Trump lindsey, it is genetic. Sen. Graham you have a determination that is good for washington. Secretary pompeo, thank you for putting the weight of the state department behind this initiative. This idea was needed at home and it has found a good home here, and jeanne, we live in tough, turbulent times. You are always willing to work on things that matter. You have the ability to compartmentalize. We are working here to memorialize this in legislation, so that this one administrations idea becomes the United States governments standing commitment to women. And that is why the bill matters, by making it a part of our law that will be passed on from one administration to the other. Very quickly, i have been to iraq and afghanistan pushing 60 times, and what you learn over and over again is that when a mothers voice is silenced, it is not a very good place to live. When a womans future is determined on the day she is born and there is no hope, it is a very discouraging place. So to fix a problem, you have to identify it. Weve got a lot of good programs. Feed the future. President obama was trying to make africa more selfsufficient when it comes to food. President bush tried to get ahead of an aids epidemic and save millions of Young Africans from certain death and empower africa to grow economically by having affordable power. But the one thing i can say above all else is that the way a nation presents Economic Opportunity to women will determine their future and ours. To those who wonder, why does this matter to you in South Carolina . I promise you, in places where women can be part of the economy, we have more customers. In places where a woman can have a say about her childs future, you will have peace. And in a place where they are treated poorly, put in soccer stadiums for sport, mass raped under the name of religion, our soldiers will soon go there because that ideology will eventually come here. This goes to the root cause of the problem. It could be 1120 in a lot of countries in this world, even though it is 2020. Imagine a world where your daughter cannot inherit property, that your wife or your sister cant go to the bank and borrow money, and Educational Opportunity is closed simply because you are a woman. So what will we do . We will create a program to empower women and hold governments accountable who refuse to recognize the value of a womans voice for their society, and the benefit of mankind in general. Of all the things i have been part of, this could be the most consequential, and you have my commitment to make sure it is done this year, and long into the future, this program will be maintained, nurtured, and will grow over time. Thank you. Thank you, senator. Your commitment is inspiring, and i hope it inspires your fellow senators to get behind this initiative. With that, i want to turn things over to senator shaheen, a rock star in leading this bipartisan effort. Thank you. Sen. Shaheen thank you, ambassador. Im pleased to join you in this wholegovernment approach to addressing challenges women face globally. I appreciate, ivanka, your leadership on this issue. As noted in the 2014 report from the world bank, on virtually every global measure, women are more economically excluded than men. Over 2. 7 billion women around the world are legally restricted from having the same choice of jobs as men, and 104 countries have laws restricting the types of jobs women can take, as well as where and when they can work. That number is a little different than the number that ivanka used, because it defines it a little differently, but regardless of whether it is 90 countries or 104 countries, too much of the world still discriminates against women, and the impact of economic equality is not borne by women alone. Communities and countries and the Global Economy are all hurt by the fact that women are not allowed equal opportunities. Research estimates closing the gender gap in the workforce can add as much as 28 trillion to the global gdp by 2025. And if women achieve pay equality with men, this Human Capital wealth will increase by over 100 trillion, according to the world bank. So im excited to join senator graham in this legislation. I think there is a lot of bipartisan support, as lindsey said, for this kind of initiative. And if we can get it off the ground and enshrine it in legislation, it will continue in future congresses in a way that will make a huge difference around the world. To achieve global Economic Empowerment, we need a multiprong approach that incorporates women and girls rights, education, protection and empowerment, in order to truly help women and girls succeed. This legislation aims to do just that. Wgdp, which this legislation codifies, takes a wholegovernment approach to gender equality. I am pleased that ambassador kelly curry is here leading this effort. This legislation also makes permanent the dedicated office within the state department to address womens empowerment and gender issues, and a direct line to the secretary of state, which is really important in adding the credibility and weight to this effort. The legislation also creates more room for consultation with congress, something i know house members and senators appreciate. It ensures the legislative and executive branches Work Together to address global womens issues. And as everyone has said, u. S. Leadership on womens empowerment is absolutely critical. The u. S. Must continue to be the standardbearer on gender policies, best practices, Development Programs that support over half of the worlds population. So thank you all for the work you are doing. I look forward to joining you and continuing this effort. Tha