At this year's annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Tech Convention in Las Vegas, Ivanka Trump, the President's daughter, was invited as a keynote speaker.
Though the CES gathering was criticized in past years for their lack of female speakers, their inclusion of Ivanka sparked just as much outrage.
Many even called for a boycott of the event.
Why?
Ivanka Trump Speaks About Immigration At The Consumer Electronics Show | TIMEwww.youtube.com
There are countless qualified women working in tech right now.
But instead of any of them, the conference chose to bring in Ivanka Trump who has no notable experience in tech beyond Chinese patents given to her after her father became President.
The hashtag #BoycottCES was quickly shared by hundreds of Twitter users associated with the industry.
At the event, Ivanka spoke about the Trump administration's contributions to the tech industry.
"It's not only about training for the jobs of the future. People need to be thinking about investing in their current workforce so they can enable those people to do their same job using different equipment tomorrow."
But most people online weren't having it.
In a statement, CTA CEO Gary Shapiro told The Hill.
"We appreciate Ivanka Trump coming to CES 2020 and speaking before a full-capacity audience on the critical issue of the future of jobs because of advancements in technology."
"Developing our future workforce has bipartisan support, and the discussion reflected the importance of and need for a strategic government-industry approach on the future American workforce."
Many others, however, felt Ivanka's inclusion at the event was insulting considering how many professional women have worked their entire lives in the industry.
There were so many better choices than Ivanka.
When activists called for increased diversity at the event, this is not what they had in mind.
Ivanka Trump at CES 2020: Full keynotewww.youtube.com
Instead of inviting privileged public figures whose career is whatever their daddy gives them to speak at events, maybe we should be considering the professionals who have gone to school, done the work and made these industries their life.
Just a thought!
To get your children started in consumer tech, the Hi-Tech First STEM Robot Kit is available here.
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