• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
MPWMost Powerful Women

Ivanka Trump Gathered These Female CEOs to Meet with the President and Justin Trudeau

Claire Zillman
By
Claire Zillman
Claire Zillman
Editor, Leadership
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 13, 2017, 9:45 AM ET

When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits the White House on Monday, jobs and trade are expected to be at the top of his agenda. But following their Oval Office meeting, Trudeau and President Donald Trump will meet with female leaders for a roundtable discussion as the two countries work to launch the United States Canada Council for the Advancement of Women Business Leaders-Female Entrepreneurs, the Associated Press reports. The new project is a mouthful, but signals the ascension of women’s economic issues on Trump’s priority list.

The discussion of women’s issues that’s expected to take place on Monday is, in part, the handiwork of First Daughter Ivanka Trump, who touted women’s empowerment issues during her father’s campaign and is said to have pressured the then-candidate to introduce a paid maternity leave proposal. Ivanka Trump does not have an official role in the Trump administration but in recent weeks has convened meetings with numerous business leaders to discuss women’s economic issues. For instance, a week before inauguration, she hosted a small, private dinner at the penthouse apartment of Wendi Murdoch, ex-wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, that was attended by the likes of IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, Deloitte CEO Cathy Engelbert, Xerox chairman Ursula Burns, designer Tory Burch, and television host Mika Brzezinski. At the dinner, Trump explained that she wanted to learn about what the leaders were doing in areas like entrepreneurship, equal pay, paid leave, and education.

Another group of high-profile women from the U.S. and Canada will attend Monday’s meeting, including General Electric Canada CEO Elyse Allan, TransAlta Corp. CEO Dawn Farrell, Accenture North America CEO Julie Sweet, and Monique Leroux, chair of the board of directors for Investissement Québec, according to the AP. GM CEO Mary Barra will be represented by Carol Stephenson of GM’s board of directors.

Subscribe to The World’s Most Powerful Women, Fortune’s daily must-read for global businesswomen.

Katie Telford, Trudeau’s chief of staff, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, and Dina Powell, an assistant to President Trump and a senior counselor for economic initiatives, will also be there. The trio is responsible for setting up the new council and recruiting participants like Barra, GE vice chair Beth Comstock, and Catalyst CEO Deborah Gillis.

On the campaign trail, President Trump entered unchartered territory for a Republican by advocating for a policy that would mandate six weeks of paid maternity leave for new moms. But for all the directives to come from the White House in the first three weeks of his administration, none have touched on women’s issues.

Members of Congress, meanwhile, have been more active, with both sides of the aisle introducing their own paid leave bills. On Tuesday, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) announced plans to reintroduce the Family And Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which guarantees workers at least two-thirds pay for up to 12 weeks when they take time off for their own health conditions—including pregnancy and childbirth—or to care for others. On Thursday, Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) introduced two pieces of legislation related to women’s advancement. The first—geared toward equal pay—would make it illegal for women to be fired for sharing or asking about salary information in the workplace. The other is a paid leave bill that would create a two-year tax credit for companies that voluntarily provide their employees with at least two weeks of paid leave.

Monday’s meeting is expected to touch on maternity leave as well as childcare, the recruitment and retention of women, and how to better aid female entrepreneurs.

The AP reports that an official from Trudeau’s office reached out to Trump’s team to talk about working together on women in the workforce, since the subject seems to be a shared interest of the two leaders. After his election in 2015, Trudeau drew praise for appointing a cabinet that, in his words, “looks like Canada,” with half the seats going to women. Trump has not followed suit. There are just four women among his 22 cabinet members who require Senate confirmation.

About the Author
Claire Zillman
By Claire ZillmanEditor, Leadership
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Claire Zillman is a senior editor at Fortune, overseeing leadership stories. 

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in MPW

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Latest in MPW

Workplace CultureSports
Exclusive: Billionaire Michele Kang launches $25 million U.S. Soccer institute that promises to transform the future of women’s sports
By Emma HinchliffeDecember 2, 2025
14 days ago
C-SuiteLeadership Next
Ulta Beauty CEO Kecia Steelman says she has the best job ever: ‘My job is to help make people feel really good about themselves’
By Fortune EditorsNovember 5, 2025
1 month ago
ConferencesMPW Summit
Executives at DoorDash, Airbnb, Sephora and ServiceNow agree: leaders need to be agile—and be a ‘swan’ on the pond
By Preston ForeOctober 21, 2025
2 months ago
Jessica Wu, co-founder and CEO of Sola, at Fortune MPW 2025
MPW
Experts say the high failure rate in AI adoption isn’t a bug, but a feature: ‘Has anybody ever started to ride a bike on the first try?’
By Dave SmithOctober 21, 2025
2 months ago
Jamie Dimon with his hand up at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit
SuccessProductivity
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says if you check your email in meetings, he’ll tell you to close it: ’it’s disrespectful’
By Preston ForeOctober 17, 2025
2 months ago
Pam Catlett
ConferencesMPW Summit
This exec says resisting FOMO is a major challenge in the AI age: ‘Stay focused on the human being’
By Preston ForeOctober 16, 2025
2 months ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
'I had to take 60 meetings': Jeff Bezos says 'the hardest thing I've ever done' was raising the first million dollars of seed capital for Amazon
By Dave SmithDecember 15, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Meetings are not work, says Southwest Airlines CEO—and he’s taking action, by blocking his calendar every afternoon from Wednesday to Friday 
By Preston ForeDecember 15, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Bad luck, six-figure earners: Elon Musk warns that money will 'disappear' in the future as AI makes work (and salaries) irrelevant
By Orianna Rosa RoyleDecember 15, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, December 15, 2025
By Joseph HostetlerDecember 15, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Ford writes down $19.5 billion as it pivots electric Lighting line of vehicles
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 15, 2025
20 hours ago
placeholder alt text
AI
Deloitte's CTO on a stunning AI transformation stat: Companies are spending 93% on tech and only 7% on people
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 15, 2025
1 day ago