Trump will fight for childcare and equal pay, says Ivanka in appeal to women

Introducing her father at close of GOP convention, businesswoman seeks to present different side to her famously abrasive father

By Stephen Ohlemacher 22 July 2016, 8:12 am

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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka addresses delegates on the final night of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 21, 2016. (AFP/Timothy A. Clary)

CLEVELAND, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump’s daughter promised Thursday that her father will fight for equal pay for women and affordable childcare for parents, issues the Republican nominee has rarely if ever addressed on the campaign trail.

Ivanka Trump got an enthusiastic welcome at the Republican National Convention. Her primetime speech elicited repeated applause and much praise from delegates in the arena.

Touting a side of her father rarely seen on the campaign trail, Ivanka Trump cast her father as a leader who would fight to address the student debt problem and would be a champion for equal pay for mothers and single women.

“As president, my father will change the labor laws that were put in place at a time when women weren’t a significant portion of the workplace, and he will focus on making quality childcare affordable and accessible for all,” Ivanka Trump said.

Trump has not addressed childcare costs or the gender pay gap so far in his 2016 presidential bid. These are issues usually touted by Democrats.

Trump’s past statements on women in the workplace have included calling pregnancy “an inconvenience” and telling a voter in New Hampshire last year that women will receive the same pay as men “if they do as good a job.”

On Thursday, Ivanka Trump said her father “will fight for equal pay for equal work.”

Ivanka Trump vowed that her father would “focus on making affordable childcare affordable and accessible for all” if elected. She was a big hit among the delegates.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump walks on stage after his daughter, Ivanka Trump, introduced him during the evening session on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP) — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump walks on stage after his daughter, Ivanka Trump, introduced him during the evening session on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, July 21, 2016. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP)

“She is showing the softer side” of Trump, said Chris Herrod, state director for Ted Cruz in Utah. “She hit the gender pay issue which is very important. And she talked about the family. I think she’s done very, very well.”

Wisconsin delegate Kathy Kiernan called Ivanka’s speech “perfect.”

“I think she’s amazing. I think that looking at his children and how great they all are and how much they all love their father tells you a lot about the man as a parent,” Kiernan said. “I think she’s one of his best assets.”

California delegate Shawn Steel said Ivanka Trump’s speech was “the high point of the entire convention for me.

“He does the blue collar, she does the millennials. It’s a powerful combination,” Steel said. “This woman I’ve been saying for some time is the greatest asset Donald Trump has.”