Global InformationList of female United States Cabinet members information
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of the United States |
|---|
 |
|
|
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 reshuffles during 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.
- ^ "The Constitution of the United States: Amendments 11–27". National Archives and Records Administration. Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
PerkinsCabinetwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
P.HarrisCabinetwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
AlbrightCabinetwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c "U.S. Code: Title 3, 19. Vacancy In Offices of Both President and Vice President; Officers Eligible to Act". Cornell Law School. Archived from the original on September 30, 2008. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
- ^ "The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription". National Archives and Records Administration. Archived from the original on August 19, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
RiceCabinetwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Benenson, Bob (January 4, 2007). "Pelosi Officially Elected Speaker of the U.S. House". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 14, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2007.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
FirstVPwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
XXVAmendmentwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Beckwith, Karen; Franceschet, Susan (January 15, 2021). "Biden will have more women in his Cabinet than any president ever. Other countries still do better". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 2, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ a b "Women Appointed to Presidential Cabinets" (PDF). Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. March 16, 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 18, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
- ^ "Secretaries of Defense". history.defense.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ "History - Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)". va.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-10-31. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).