Ivanka Trump headed to Peru summit for women’s empowerment effort

April 11 (UPI) — Senior adviser Ivanka Trump said Wednesday a new White House women’s initiative will be unveiled this week at the Summit of the Americas trade conference in Peru.

Trump did not give details about the initiative, but said its focus is to help female entrepreneurs with challenges they might face — like lack of funding and credit.

“Women’s economic empowerment has been a core mission of mine and an ongoing priority for the administration. This work is critical,” Trump told reporters on a conference call Wednesday. “When women are empowered economically, it contributes to increased economic growth, peace and global stability.”

Trump said women typically reinvest about 90 percent of their profits into their families and communities, which creates a unique multiplier.

“When we invest in women, communities prosper and countries thrive,” she said.

The White House said while women’s participation and labor rates have risen in Latin America over the last quarter-century, rates of female-owned business formations have remained low there — accounting for just 12 percent of all companies.

Worldwide, women face a $300 billion shortfall in access to credit — and that gap is largest in Latin America, Trump said.

“I’m extremely excited for my visit and look forward to highlighting the important work that the U.S. government and this administration are doing to empower women economically and in the region and elsewhere around the globe,” she said Wednesday.

White House aide Carlos Diaz Rosillo said the initiatives Ivanka Trump will propose in Peru will be tangible — and stand as an example of the president’s commitment to the Americas.

“The president understands that the region’s security and prosperity directly affect American interest and contributes to a more prosperous United States,” Rosillo said. “Helping to increase economic opportunities and women’s economic empowerment in the Americas is a key element of the president’s commitment to advance shared goals and objectives in the hemisphere.”

Trump had planned to attend the summit, but canceled Tuesday to monitor the situation in Syria from the White House.

Senior administration officials said the president instead chose to send a “very strong” delegation to Lima.

The Summit of the Americas will run Friday and Saturday.