TOKYO — Ivanka Trump said at a Tokyo conference on women’s advancement Friday that harassment of women in the workplace cannot be tolerated.
The U.S. president’s daughter and adviser spoke at the World Assembly for Women amid growing attention to sexual harassment of women in Hollywood and other industries in the United States.
“All too often, our workplace culture fails to treat women with appropriate respect,” she said. “This takes many forms including harassment which can never be tolerated.”
She did not give examples.
In her speech, she also said workplaces need to make further efforts to respect women’s values and accommodate the need for balance between work and family.
Despite the increase in the percentage of women at workplaces, corporate expectations have remained “stagnant” and still operate on “a single-honour mindset” with expectations for mothers to stay home to provide fulltime care, she said.
It “disproportionately” impacts women and most likely causes them to leave jobs or curtail ambitions due to lack of affordable care for children or relatives who can help, she said, calling for innovative ways to make it easier for women to enjoy motherhood without compromising their careers.
“This isn’t a woman’s issue, it’s a family issue,” she said.
Ivanka Trump came to Japan at the invitation of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and is set to leave one day before her father arrives here Sunday. Ivanka Trump and Abe were to have dinner at a Japanese restaurant later Friday.
The conference is part of Abe’s “womenomics” initiative aimed at encouraging women to join the workforce and promoting their advancement as a way to boost national economic growth. More women have joined the labour force under the Abe government, but the majority of female workers hold part-time or non-regular jobs, while most working men have fulltime jobs.
Abe acknowledged that men think they have set the rules and tend to “think inside the box” and he feels “a pain in the heart” as he reflects on his own mindset.
“I believe women have a power to break the wall of ‘common sense’ set by men and pioneer a new era,” Abe said, adding that women have the chance to create businesses from a unique perspective.
President Donald Trump starts his first official Asia tour in Japan. Trump will play golf and talk with Abe and meet with Emperor Akihito and relatives of people abducted by North Korea.