Ivanka Trump had a surprising response when a pregnant employee asked her about maternity leave

Ivanka Trump has cultivated an image of female empowerment through her fashion company's tagline, "Women Who Work," and her new book with that same title.

In the White House, as one of President Donald Trump's top advisers, she has taken that tagline one step further by pushing for policies that would benefit women, such as federal paid family leave.

But Ivanka wasn't always a supporter of family-leave policies.

Four years ago, she expected women to return to work soon after giving birth, according to a report in The New York Times published Tuesday.

Marissa Kraxberger, a former executive for Trump's fashion company, told The Times that she asked Trump about paid leave when she was pregnant in the summer of 2013.

Kraxberger recalled Trump saying: "Well, we don't have maternity leave policy here; I went back to work one week after having my child, so that's just not something I'm used to."

Afterward, Kraxberger and others pushed Trump to adopt a paid-leave policy, but the company didn't implement one until the next year, according to The Times.

A representative for Trump's fashion line told The Times that the company was new when the issue came up and it now offers two months of paid family leave and flexible hours, as well as a play area for children in its office.

In her new book, out Tuesday, Trump describes her journey in dealing with the pressures of having children and continuing to work.

As a new mother, she initially kept her family life private and didn't allow her work life and home life to overlap.

"It took me a while to have the confidence to know that my authenticity as a mother with young children doesn't undermine my professional capabilities or my toughness at the negotiating table," she wrote, according to an excerpt published by Fortune.

She says she's trying to be more open about the roles she plays — both executive and mother — and better integrate them to be a model for other working mothers.

"One of the ways I'm setting an example for a different kind of corporate culture in my company is by involving my kids — and spending quality time with them at the office," she wrote, according to Fortune. "By occasionally bringing my kids to the office, I'm sharing what I love to do with them but also sending the message to my team that I prioritize my family and they can, too."

Trump announced in January that she would take a leave of absence from her jobs at the Trump Organization and her fashion line. In March, Trump took a formal role as an unpaid adviser to the president, and she now has an office in the White House.