Story highlights Ivanka Trump backs move to end Obama-era rule on gender gap wage data collection

Kara Alaimo: She's in the wrong, but it's not too late for businesses to do the right thing

Kara Alaimo, an assistant professor of public relations at Hofstra University, is the author of "Pitch, Tweet, or Engage on the Street: How to Practice Global Public Relations and Strategic Communication." She was spokeswoman for international affairs in the Treasury Department during the Obama administration. Follow her on Twitter @karaalaimo. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) The White House announced this week it will no longer require businesses with more than 100 employees to collect data on salaries by race, ethnicity and gender. The administration issued a statement by Ivanka Trump, claiming that the rule implemented by the Obama administration "would not yield the intended results."

"We look forward to continuing to work with the (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), (Office of Management and Budget), Congress and all relevant stakeholders on robust policies aimed at eliminating the gender wage gap," the first daughter said.

But she didn't explain why she thinks the rule wouldn't work.

I challenge her to explain exactly why she thinks collecting this kind of data would not "yield the intended results" -- and what the administration intends to do to fix the problem.

According to the Institute for Women's Policy Research , overall, women earn 82% of the pay of men. But black women earn just 63% of the pay of men, while Latinas earn 57% of men's salaries.

Read More