Ivanka Trump has positioned herself as a champion of women in the workplace and a staunch defender of her father’s position to “buy American, hire American,” but according to new information released this week after an audit of a Chinese factory used to manufacture Ivanka Trump branded clothing, she isn’t practicing what she is preaching. Actually, pretty far from it.
According to the audit done by industry monitoring group Fair Labor Association, first reported by The Washington Post, workers at the factory used to create clothing for the G-III Apparel Group (which has the exclusive license to manufacture Ivanka's apparel) at times worked nearly 60 hours a week earning wages of approximately $62 per week—below the minimum wage for some parts of China.
The factory audit also found instances of overtime abuse with workers doing as much as 82 extra hours a month (far over the 36-hour limit) and discovered some lacked benefits and safety standards weren’t being met in a number of instances.
Because Trump has no leadership role at G-III, she wasn’t directly related to the decision to work with this specific factory. Also, since becoming an official adviser in her father’s White House, Trump now has no management role at the company bearing her name (though she still retains an ownership interest). The report also did not specify whether Ivanka Trump branded clothing was found during this specific inspection.
Still, both consumers and human rights groups are demanding transparency as it pertains to the garment supply chain—i.e., where and in what conditions the clothing is made and who is making it. Just because Trump didn’t demand that information from G-III doesn’t mean she’s off the hook for looking the other way.
Trump, whose book Women Who Work hits stores next week, wrote in the Financial Times on Monday in an article titled "Investment in Women Unleashes Global Gains":
“We can add billions to the global economy by creating an enabling environment, increasing women’s labor force participation and business ownership, and improving the productivity of their work."
While in recent years plenty of retailers and brands have come under fire for the conditions in which their clothing is manufactured, this is certainly not the "enabling environment" that Trump is so often advocating.
A word of advice to Ivanka Trump: Advocating for the advancement of women in the workplace requires more than just words; it requires action. And it seems a great place to start is with your own businesses.
