Writing the book on women and work
WASHINGTON— Ivanka Trump’s first foray into self-help writing came in 2009 with The Trump Card, a breezy compilation of workplace advice, stories about her dealmaker dad and a hefty dose of celebrity name-dropping. But in her second book, released Tuesday, Trump has gone from sassy to serious.
Women Who Work: Rewriting the Rules for Success offers earnest advice for women on advancing in the workplace, balancing family and professional life and seeking personal fulfilment. She is donating the proceeds to charity and has opted not to do any publicity to avoid any suggestion that she is improperly using her White House platform.
It’s natural that Ivanka Trump’s thinking would evolve. Now 35, she is married and has had three children since she wrote the first book. She has also embraced advocacy for women, first at her fashion brand and now at the White House as an unpaid adviser.
She stepped away from executive roles at the Trump Organization and her fashion brand before joining her father’s administration, though she still owns the brand, which has prompted criticism from ethics experts that she could profit from her rising profile.
A look at her advice from both books:
Workplace tips Then: Trump offers advice on technology — “check your BlackBerry or iPhone only on the quarter hour” — and warns against “loose-lipped, illconsidered emails.” She gives negotiating tips, such as “be aware of your physical presence” and “understand that people ask for more than they expect to get.” Now: Trump discusses how to juggle career and family and live a more purposeful life. She encourages readers to think about how they person- ally define success, and talks about setting goals, seeking mentors and establishing boundaries. She writes: “Long term, we aren’t remembered for how late we stayed at the office, how many buildings we developed or deals we closed.”
Time management Then: Noting she was always looking for an “edge,” Trump said that “as long as I can remember, I’ve been in the habit of coming into the office on Sundays.” She added that while she didn’t expect employees to follow suit, “you’d be surprised at how quickly your employees will fall in line behind you when you set this kind of example.” Now: In a chapter called “Work Smarter, Not Harder,” she says that when she became a mother she realized that she needed “to set health- ier boundaries for myself and stick to them.” She encourages seeking accommodations at work, like asking for flextime or working remotely.
Getting personal Then: She dishes about growing up as Donald Trump’s daughter. Michael Jackson — at the time a Trump Tower resident — apparently attended a performance of The Nutcracker in which she danced as a child. Now: There is less colourful insight, but Trump does share a few family moments, such as practising her speech for the Republican National Convention with her three children on the couch. Trump, who converted to Judaism when she married Jared Kushner, discusses observing the Jewish Sabbath, saying it is “important to unplug and devote that time to each other.”
Guest stars Then: Focusing on business success, Trump includes short essays from a variety of executives, featuring record producer Russell Simmons and Arianna Huffington. A guest writer she probably wouldn’t include in the new book: former Fox News Channel executive Roger Ailes, who resigned last summer following allegations that he made unwanted sexual advances against women. Now: Trump looks more to academics and experts on women in the workforce, in addition to celebrities and politicians. She quotes Anne-Marie Slaughter, who five years ago wrote a popular essay on why she left a job in the State Department during U.S. president Barack Obama’s administration, and Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg.