U.S. President Donald Trump is sitting down with eight CEOs today to discuss topics like regulation and trade. Three women are on the list: Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo, Ginni Rometty of IBM, and Mary Barra of GM. They were previously named to Trump’s business council.
Interestingly enough, not one of them is expected to speak about “women in the workforce,” an item that appears on the agenda. Instead, a list circulated by the White House says Doug McMillon of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Mark Weinberger of EY will advise the president on that point.
It should be noted that EY has an especially generous parental leave policy. But still, the selection of two men to talk about women in the workforce is reminiscent of the all-male panel on gender equality that PayPal assembled last year. The company defended that much-criticized move by saying that the fight for gender equality needs men as allies. The Trump administration could make that same argument.
At this point, I’m (cautiously) encouraged that the White House is broaching the women’s workforce issue in the first place.