List of female United States Cabinet members
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|caption1 = Kamala Harris is the highest-ranking woman to serve in a Cabinet as Vice President of the United States.
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|alt1 = Madeline Albright wearing a dark blouse and coat, with an eagle badge on her left shoulder
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|footer = Madeleine Albright (left), Condoleezza Rice (center), and Hillary Clinton (right) are the highest-ranking women to lead a federal executive department; each held the post of Secretary of State.
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The Cabinet of the United States, which is the principal advisory body to the President of the United States, has had 72 female members altogether, with eight of them serving in multiple positions for a total of 80 cabinet appointments. Of that number, 43 different women held a total of 46 permanent cabinet posts, having served as the Vice President or heads of the federal executive departments; 34 more women held cabinet-level positions, which can differ under each president; and five 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.{{Cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html |title=The Constitution of the United States: Amendments 11–27 |publisher=National Archives and Records Administration |access-date=November 14, 2008 |archive-date=October 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009201001/http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html |url-status=live}}
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. 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. Two years later, Carter tapped her for Secretary of Health and Human Services,{{efn|name=HEW}} therefore making her the first woman to hold two different cabinet positions. 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 making her, at the time, the highest-ranking woman in the history of the federal government.{{efn|name=ineligible|Ineligible to serve in the line of succession due to being a naturalized citizen and not a natural-born citizen.{{Cite web |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/3/19.html |title=U.S. Code: Title 3, 19. Vacancy In Offices of Both President and Vice President; Officers Eligible to Act |publisher=Cornell Law School |access-date=November 16, 2008 |archive-date=September 30, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080930061516/http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/3/19.html |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html |title=The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription |publisher=National Archives and Records Administration |access-date=November 16, 2008 |archive-date=August 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110819235454/http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html |url-status=live}}}}
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. 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.{{Cite news |last=Benenson |first=Bob |date=January 4, 2007 |title=Pelosi Officially Elected Speaker of the U.S. House |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/cq/2007/01/04/cq_2079.html?pagewanted=print |url-status=live |work=The New York Times |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210714194048/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/cq/2007/01/04/cq_2079.html?pagewanted=print |archive-date=July 14, 2021 |access-date=July 5, 2007}} 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.
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.{{Cite news |last1=Beckwith |first1=Karen |last2=Franceschet |first2=Susan |date=January 15, 2021 |title=Biden will have more women in his Cabinet than any president ever. Other countries still do better. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/15/biden-will-have-more-women-his-cabinet-than-any-president-ever-other-countries-still-do-better/ |url-status=live |work=The Washington Post |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210202103534/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/15/biden-will-have-more-women-his-cabinet-than-any-president-ever-other-countries-still-do-better/ |archive-date=February 2, 2021 |access-date=January 16, 2021}} 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. That record was equaled by President Donald Trump in his second administration.
The Department of Labor has had the most female secretaries, with eight.{{Cite web|url=https://cawp.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/resources/womenapptdtoprescabinets.pdf |title=Women Appointed to Presidential Cabinets |date=March 16, 2022 |work=Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218043319/https://cawp.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/resources/womenapptdtoprescabinets.pdf |archive-date=December 18, 2022 |url-status=live |access-date=March 17, 2022}} The Department of Health and Human Services has had five; the
Departments of Commerce and Education has had four; the Departments of Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, State, and Transportation have had three; the Departments of Agriculture and Energy have had two; and the Department of Treasury have had one. The Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs are the only existing executive departments that do not have female secretaries yet.{{Cite web |title=Secretaries of Defense |url=https://history.defense.gov/DOD-History/Secretaries-of-Defense/ |access-date=2021-11-19 |website=history.defense.gov |archive-date=2021-04-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428130212/https://history.defense.gov/DOD-History/Secretaries-of-Defense/ |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |title=History - Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) |url=https://www.va.gov/HISTORY/VA_History/Overview.asp |access-date=2021-11-19 |website=va.gov |archive-date=2021-10-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031143255/https://www.va.gov/HISTORY/VA_History/Overview.asp |url-status=live}}
The totals for this list include only women presidential appointees confirmed (if necessary) by the U.S. 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.
:{{color box|#FFFF99|*}} denotes the first female holder of that particular office
=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.{{Cite news |author= |title=U.S. Postal Service Selects First Female Postmaster General |url=https://time.com/3585604/usps-megan-brennan-mail-patrick-donahoe/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210713202725/https://time.com/3585604/usps-megan-brennan-mail-patrick-donahoe/ |archive-date=July 13, 2021 |work=Time |date=November 14, 2014 |access-date=November 19, 2018}} She was appointed after the 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.commerce.gov/about/history/origins|title=Origins: 1776-1913 |date=December 20, 2022 |publisher=United States Department of Commerce |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222164654/https://www.commerce.gov/about/history/origins |archive-date=December 22, 2022 |access-date=September 20, 2022 |url-status=live |quote=President William Taft signed legislation on March 4, 1913, his last day in office, splitting the combined department. Labor was given Cabinet status and the designation of the Department of Commerce and Labor was changed to the Department of Commerce.}} 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.{{Cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/army-government-and-politics-4e17a655ffedc3de579e414c55a80768 |title=Senate confirms Wormuth as first female Army secretary |last=Baldor |first=Lolita C. |date=May 27, 2021 |website=Associated Press |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210713202909/https://apnews.com/article/army-government-and-politics-4e17a655ffedc3de579e414c55a80768 |archive-date=July 13, 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=May 28, 2021}} 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.{{Cite web |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/news-and-events/news/2021/susan-morrisey-livingstone--first-female-acting-secretary-of-the.html |title=Susan Morrisey Livingstone, First Female Acting Secretary of the Navy |publisher=United States Department of the Navy |access-date=February 16, 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20221031202153/https://www.history.navy.mil/news-and-events/news/2021/susan-morrisey-livingstone--first-female-acting-secretary-of-the.html |archive-date=October 31, 2022}} 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.{{Cite news |author= |title=Woman Confirmed as Air Force Boss |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1993-08-07-9308071119-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210713203106/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1993-08-07-9308071119-story.html |archive-date=July 13, 2021 |work=Orlando Sentinel |date=August 7, 1993 |access-date=January 15, 2001}} 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.
:{{color box|#FFFF99|*}} denotes the first female holder of that particular office
See also
{{Portal|Feminism|Politics|United States}}
Other lists of United States Cabinet members
- List of African-American United States Cabinet members
- List of foreign-born United States Cabinet members
- List of Hispanic and Latino American United States Cabinet members
- List of Jewish United States Cabinet members
Lists of international female executive department leaders
Notes
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References
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External links
- [https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/the-cabinet/ The Cabinet] - Provided by the White House. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
- [https://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/resources/womenapptdtoprescabinets.pdf 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.
- [http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/WIC/Historical-Data/Women-Members-Who-Became-Cabinet-Members-and-United-States-Diplomats/ 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.
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