Ivanka Trump ridiculed for initiative which failed to identify the ‘very poor’ it aimed to help

A female empowerment project set up by Ivanka Trump has been strongly criticised by a report from the Government Audit Office (GAO), prompting mockery of the former adviser to the president.

The GAO report, published this week, took aim at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which managed the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) fund.

Former president Donald Trump set up the W-GDP initiative in February 2019, with his daughter founded and led as his advisor.

“W-GDP seeks to reach 50 million women in the developing world by 2025 through U.S. government activities, private-public partnerships, and a new, innovative W-GDP Fund.

“The W-GDP Initiative aims to enhance opportunities for women to participate meaningfully in the economy and advance both prosperity and national security. 

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“W-GDP focuses on three pillars: Women Prospering in the Workforce, Women Succeeding as Entrepreneurs, and Women Enabled in the Economy,” an archived webpage on the initiative reads.

However, the GAO report, which examined the USAID’s support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) assistance, found that the agency needed to develop “a targeting process” and make improvements to “the reliability of its monitoring”.

“Although USAID has programs designed to help the very poor, it is unable to determine the amount of funding that reaches this group.

“These gaps leave USAID unable to determine what percentage of its MSME resources is going to the very poor and enterprises owned, managed, and controlled by women,” it says.

Twitter users have since responded to the report’s findings, with many not surprised by its conclusions, considering, after all, who was involved:

It seems like Kamala Harris has done more for the empowerment of women as the first female vice president than Trump did with her W-GDP initiative just by being in office.

More: I’m an OB/GYN doctor in New York— this is what I’ve learned about empowering women