Ivanka Trump was selected to participate in a CES 2020 keynote discussion “The Path to the Future of Work” on January 7.
In a CES press release announcing her participation, Trump said she was excited to participate in “one of the most influential technology events in the world.”
But Trump’s selection backfired, even resulting in a hashtag calling for attendees to #BoycottCES, the Guardian notes.
The speech was reportedly meant to be a step forward in including more women in the tech conference, which had received criticism for overlooking women, including failing to include any female speakers in the 2016 and 2017, according to the Guardian.
But critics slammed the decision because, they said, Trump is not a woman in tech, she is a presidential advisor. Carolina Milanesi, writing for Forbes, went so far as to say that the decision to have Trump keynote at CES was “all that is wrong for women in tech.”
“The reason for my upset is rooted in the fact that there are women who are in tech and are entrepreneurs who could run circles around Trump,” wrote Milanesi, continuing to say that CES’ track record with women just makes Trump’s inclusion increasingly frustrating.
Entrepreneur Rachel Sklar called the decision an insult to women, BBC reports.
Gary Shapiro, the CEO of CTA, the company who hosts CES, shared the stage with Trump during the keynote discussion.
Shapiro told BBC he did not regret the decision to include her, citing recent focus on jobs and Trump’s unique insight into how the national government is working together with the private sector.
In a statement to The Hill, Shapiro made sure to clarify that the decision was not political, calling the developing future workplace a bipartisan issue.