The Cabinet of the United States, which is the principal advisory body to the president of the United States, has had 65 female members altogether, with seven of them serving in multiple positions for a total of 72 cabinet appointments. Of that number, 38 different women held a total of 41 permanent cabinet posts, having served as the vice president or heads of the federal executive departments; 31 more women held cabinet-level positions, which can differ under each president; and four officeholders served in both cabinet and cabinet-rank roles. No woman held a presidential cabinet position before the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which prohibits the federal government or any state from denying citizens the right to vote on the basis of sex.[1]
Frances Perkins became the first woman to serve in a president's cabinet when she was appointed secretary of labor by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933.[2] Patricia Roberts Harris was the first African-American woman and the first woman of color to serve in a presidential cabinet when she was named secretary of housing and urban development by President Jimmy Carter in 1977.[3] Two years later, Carter tapped her for secretary of health and human services,[a] therefore making her the first woman to hold two different cabinet positions.[3] Madeleine Albright, who was born in Czechoslovakia, became the first foreign-born woman to serve in a president's cabinet when she was picked by President Bill Clinton for United States ambassador to the United Nations, a cabinet-rank position, in 1993. She was elevated to secretary of state four years later, during Clinton's second term, thus becoming the highest-ranking woman in the federal government's history at the time.[4][b]
On January 26, 2005, Condoleezza Rice assumed the post of secretary of state under President George W. Bush, which made her the highest-ranked woman among cabinet secretaries to enter the presidential line of succession, standing fourth.[7][5] Nancy Pelosi surpassed Rice on January 4, 2007, when her election as the first female speaker of the House put her second in line to the presidency.[8][5] Kamala Harris replaced Pelosi to become the highest-ranking woman ever to be in the line of succession upon being inaugurated as the first female vice president on January 20, 2021, alongside President Joe Biden.[9][10]
President Joe Biden named the most women as secretaries to his first-term Cabinet, with five: former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen as secretary of the treasury; U.S. representative Deb Haaland (D-NM) as secretary of the interior; Rhode Island governor Gina Raimondo as secretary of commerce; U.S. representative Marcia Fudge (D-OH) as secretary of housing and urban development; and Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm as secretary of energy, exceeding by one the record set by President Barack Obama.[11] However, including cabinet reshufflesduring his second term in office, Obama still holds the record for most women appointed to permanent cabinet positions with eight, the most of any presidency, therefore surpassing George W. Bush's previous record of six appointees.
The Department of Labor has had the most female secretaries, with seven.[12] The Department of Health and Human Services has had five; the Department of Commerce has had four; the departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, State, and Transportation have had three; the departments of Energy, Homeland Security, and Justice have had two; and the departments of Agriculture and Treasury have had one.[12] The departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs are the only existing executive departments that do not have female secretaries yet.[13][14]
The totals for this list include only women presidential appointees confirmed (if necessary) by the United States Senate to cabinet or cabinet-level positions and taking their oath of office; they do not include acting officials or nominees awaiting confirmation.
Permanent Cabinet members
The following list includes women who have held permanent Cabinet positions, all of whom are in the line of succession to the Presidency. The table below is organized based on the beginning of their terms in office. Officeholders whose terms begin the same day are listed according to the presidential order of succession.
- * denotes the first female holder of that particular office
.png)
Former permanent Cabinet members
- The Secretary of War became defunct when the Department of War was split between the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force by the National Security Act of 1947, and both were absorbed into the Department of Defense in 1949. No woman had ever served while it was a Cabinet post.
- The Postmaster General ceased to be a member of the Cabinet when the Post Office Department was re-organized into the United States Postal Service (USPS) by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970. No woman had ever served while it was a Cabinet post. Megan Brennan became the first woman to serve as Postmaster General in 2015.[51] She was appointed after USPS became an independent agency of the executive branch.
- The Secretary of Commerce and Labor became renamed when the Department of Commerce and Labor was split between the Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor. The Department of Commerce is considered a continuation of the Department of Commerce and Labor under a new name.[52] No woman had ever served under the original title of the position.
- The Secretary of the Army ceased to be a member of the Cabinet when the Department of the Army became a component of the Department of Defense in 1949. No woman had ever served while it was a Cabinet post. Christine Wormuth became the first woman to serve as Secretary of the Army in 2021.[53] She was appointed after it became a position beneath the Secretary of Defense.
- The Secretary of the Navy ceased to be a member of the Cabinet when the Department of the Navy became a component of the Department of Defense in 1949. No woman had ever served while it was a Cabinet post. Susan Livingstone became the first woman to serve as acting Secretary of the Navy in 2003.[54] She was appointed after it became a position beneath the Secretary of Defense.
- The Secretary of the Air Force ceased to be a member of the Cabinet when the Department of the Air Force became a component of the Department of Defense in 1949. No woman had ever served while it was a Cabinet post. Sheila Widnall became the first woman to serve as Secretary of the Air Force in 1993.[55] She was appointed after it became a position beneath the Secretary of Defense.
Cabinet-level positions
The president may designate or remove additional officials as members of the Cabinet. These positions have not always been in the Cabinet, so some female officeholders may not be listed.
The following list includes women who have held Cabinet-level positions, which can vary under each president. They are not in the line of succession and are not necessarily officers of the United States. The table below is organized based on the beginning of their terms in office while it was raised to cabinet-level status. Officeholders whose terms begin the same day are listed alphabetically by last name.
- * denotes the first female holder of that particular office
.jpg)
Pending nominees for Cabinet secretaries and Cabinet-level positions
| Nominee | Office | Announced | Party | Administration | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julie Su | Secretary of Labor | February 28, 2023 | Democratic | Biden | [83] | |
See also
Notes
References
External links
- The Cabinet - Provided by the White House. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
- Women Appointed to Presidential Cabinets - Produced by the Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics from Rutgers University. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
- Women Members Who Became Cabinet Members and United States Diplomats - Provided by the U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Historian. Part of the History, Art & Archives, Women in Congress, 1917–2006 website. Retrieved January 11, 2016.