The world’s largest technology exhibition CES has defended its decision to invite Ivanka Trump to speak on “the future of work”, after criticism that it has been overlooking women leaders in the field.
CES chief Gary Shapiro, who is set to interview the daughter of the US president on stage, said the interview would focus on collaboration between industry and government on topics such as people losing jobs to artificial intelligence and the race to compete against China.
“There is a concern in the US and elsewhere about jobs,” the chief executive of the Consumer Technology Association, which organises CES, told the BBC.
Mr Shapiro said that Ms Trump’s role as co-chair of two governmental advisory boards on workforce issues had made her a suitable speaker at the conference, which is expected to attract roughly 170,000 people. He declined to say whether the White House had requested that she make the address.
US president Donald Trump has previously faced criticism for the prominent political role he has given his daughter, who serves as his adviser. Earlier this year he claimed to have considered nominating the 38-year-old former fashion designer to lead the World Bank.
Ms Trump is scheduled to speak at CES on Tuesday, as the three-day long event kicks off in Las Vegas with some of the world’s biggest companies and hundreds of start-ups showcasing their latest consumer products in fields such as augmented reality and the internet of things.
She will join other speakers such as Salesforce chairman and co-chief executive Marc Benioff, Samsung president Hyun-Suk Kim as well as previous Hewlett-Packard chief Meg Whitman and media mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, who are preparing to launch the new short-clip streaming service Quibi.
CES, which started as a small gadget fair in 1967, has previously been criticised for sidelining women working in the industry with some recent years featuring all-male line-ups of keynote speakers.
Carolina Milanesi, tech analyst at consultancy Creative Strategies, wrote in a blog post that lacklustre attempts at addressing the underrepresentation of women in technology explained the “frustration of seeing Ivanka Trump selected to be one of the two women delivering a keynote”.
“There are many more women who are in tech and are entrepreneurs who could run circles around Trump on how technology will impact the future of work,” she said.
“I don’t think I am unfair in believing that [Ivanka] Trump did not stop and think if she was the best woman for the job before accepting the invitation from the CTA.”
