Ivanka Trump started the second day of the summit with a plenary session on the issue ‘Innovations in Workforce Development and Skills Training.’ The daughter of US President Donald Trump and his chief advisor Ms. Trump,  was one of the panelists along with the MD and CEO of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar and British barrister and lecturer Cherie Blair. The panel was moderated by Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer of Dell Karen Quintos.

Hyderabad’s Hon. IT Minister Mr. K.T. Rama Rao introduced the panelists for the plenary session which was aimed at boosting female participation in innovation and improving their access to skills, training, education and career counseling. Speaking about the need for women in entrepreneurship roles, Ms. Trump said, “Women make up half of the world’s population. We need to think of these issues not as women’s issues but as human issues. Having equal gender representation is a financial positive to businesses today besides being a social responsibility.”

According to Chanda Kochhar, there is no other country in the world other than India where 40% of the banking sector is headed by women, however, not even 25% of graduate women participate in the workforce. The panel discussion was centered around creating awareness and encouraging women to take up the tremendous opportunities that technology offers entrepreneurs. “It’s the desire, support and ecosystem of the organization where women work that will help them break the glass ceiling. Recognition of work keeps us going,” Ms. Kochchar added.

Stressing on the need for men to be a part of the discussion, Dell’s CCO Karen Quintos said, “The biases that exist in society have to be addressed and men need to be a part of that conversation. Business outcomes are great when you have diverse thinking.”

Founder of the Cherie Blaire Foundation, Cherie Blaire, speaking about working women said, “We have to find solutions so women can do better at what they do without giving up on their enterprises. Capacity, confidence, capital – the three things women entrepreneurs need to flourish.”

Along with the captivating panel discussion regarding gender gap in entrepreneurship, GES 2017 also hosted a panel discussion on the value of mentors, sponsors and networks in maximizing entrepreneurs’ potential and driving entrepreneurship in sports. Harsha Bhogle moderated the panel discussion regarding entrepreneurship in sports with Sania Mirza, Pullela Gopichand, Mithali Raj and Chatri Sityodtong as the panelist.

The recently crowned Ms. World Manushi Chhillar also attended the summit and spoke about the importance of women entrepreneurs and the need for both men and women to be treated equally.

Miss World @ManushiChhillar at #GES2017 to #womentrepreneurs: You don’t need to be Miss World to make a difference. @RonnieScrewvala pic.twitter.com/TLmhkGZv0Q

— GES2017 (@GES2017) November 29, 2017

Miss World @ManushiChhillar is about to share her views on #WomenAtWork at #GES2017. Watch her LIVE here: https://t.co/LL9QPn1Y55 @MissWorldLtd pic.twitter.com/jM2YH2hJLC

— GES2017 (@GES2017) November 29, 2017

Despite the focus on women entrepreneur and women empowerment, a 13 year old Australian entrepreneur stole the show at the summit with his five apps. This talented app developer Hamish Finlayson is an autistic child which is a serious development disorder impairing the ability to communicate or interact. Despite the disability, this class & student from Queensland has developed an app for helping  people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and four more environmental apps. Hamish has strong values and hopes his apps can someday change the world for the better. But he strongly believes education comes first and saving the world later.