New York City – In a keynote address at the New York Stock Exchange’s IMPERIA summit, First Lady Melania Trump emphasized the critical role women play in the American and global economies. The invite‑only event, designed for female CEOs and executives, provided a platform for the first lady to call women “the foundation and infrastructure” of the marketplace.

Women as the nation’s biggest untapped economic force

“People still do not fully understand the full scale of women’s power in the global economy,” Trump said. She argued that the greatest untapped resource is not a new technology or natural discovery, but women coming together as owners.

Trump painted a stark picture of a world without women’s contributions: without women as consumers, investors, leaders, caregivers, innovators, and managers of household finances, the modern economy would falter. She noted that removing women from the workforce would mean losing doctors, engineers, bankers, lawyers and countless other professionals.

She also highlighted the often‑overlooked “unseen and ignored” economy of care—childcare, home teaching, and caring for the elderly or sick family members—asserting that this support structure enables many to work for pay.

Call to action for investment and ownership

Concluding her remarks, Trump urged the audience to move beyond mentorship toward tangible ownership. “Invest in her. Do not merely open a door; create a real opportunity,” she said, encouraging attendees to turn networks into “tangible value capital” and to invite other outstanding women into boardrooms.

She emphasized that women have already built companies, created wealth, and transformed industries, and that collective action could further strengthen the economy. “Now is our time to move beyond mentorship and toward ownership,” Trump declared.

The IMPERIA summit, the first of its kind at the NYSE, aims to foster collaboration among female leaders and to spotlight the economic power women bring to the nation’s financial landscape.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.