Frances Perkins was the first woman appointed to a presidential cabinet. Patricia Harris was the first African-American woman to hold a cabinet post and she held two different cabinet positions. Aida Alvarez was the first Latina to be appointed to a cabinet-level role. Elaine Chao is the first Asian-American woman to hold a cabinet post. A total of forty women have held cabinet-level positions. Twenty-three of these women were appointed by a Democratic president; seventeen were appointed by a Republican president.
Name | Department | President | Served |
Frances Perkins | Secretary of Labor | F. D. Roosevelt (D) | 1933-45 |
Oveta Culp Hobby | Secretary of Health, Education & Welfare | Eisenhower (R) | 1953-55 |
Anne Armstrong | Counsellor to the President* | Nixon (R), Ford (R) | 1973-74 |
Carla Anderson Hills | Secretary of Housing & Urban Develop. | Ford (R) | 1975-77 |
Patricia R. Harris | Secretary of Housing & Urban Develop. | Carter (D) | 1977-79 |
Juanita A. Kreps | Secretary of Commerce | Carter (D) | 1977-79 |
Shirley M. Hufstedler | Secretary of Education | Carter (D) | 1979-81 |
Patricia R. Harris | Secretary of Health & Human Services | Carter (D) | 1979-81 |
Jeane J. Kirkpatrick | U. N. Ambassador* | Reagan (R) | 1981-85 |
Margaret M. Heckler | Secretary of Health & Human Services | Reagan (R) | 1983-85 |
Elizabeth H. Dole | Secretary of Transportation | Reagan (R) | 1983-87 |
Ann Dore McLaughlin | Secretary of Labor | Reagan (R) | 1987-89 |
Elizabeth H. Dole | Secretary of Labor | G. H. W. Bush (R) | 1989-91 |
Carla Anderson Hills | Special Trade Representative* | G. H. W. Bush (R) | 1989-93 |
Lynn Morley Martin | Secretary of Labor | G. H. W. Bush (R) | 1991-93 |
Barbara H. Franklin | Secretary of Commerce | G. H. W. Bush (R) | 1992-93 |
Hazel R. O'Leary | Secretary of Energy | Clinton (D) | 1993-97 |
Madeleine K. Albright | U. N. Ambassador* | Clinton (D) | 1993-97 |
Janet Reno | Attorney General | Clinton (D) | 1993-01 |
Carol M. Browner | Environmental Protection Agency* | Clinton (D) | 1993-01 |
Donna E. Shalala | Secretary of Health & Human Services | Clinton (D) | 1993-01 |
Alice M. Rivlin | Office of Management & Budget | Clinton (D) | 1994-96 |
Laura D'Andrea Tyson | Council of Economic Advisors* | Clinton (D) | 1993-95 |
Laura D'Andrea Tyson | National Economic Council* | Clinton (D) | 1995-96 |
Janet L. Yellen | Council of Economic Advisors* | Clinton (D) | 1997-99 |
Madeleine K. Albright | Secretary of State | Clinton (D) | 1997-01 |
Aida Alvarez | Small Business Administration* | Clinton (D) | 1997-01 |
Charlene Barshefsky | U. S. Trade Representative* | Clinton (D) | 1997-01 |
Alexis Herman | Secretary of Labor | Clinton (D) | 1997-01 |
Janice R. Lachance | Director, Office of Personnel Management* | Clinton (D) | 1997-01 |
Christine Todd Whitman | Environmental Protection Agency* | G. W. Bush (R) | 2001-03 |
Ann Veneman | Secretary of Agriculture | G. W. Bush (R) | 2001-05 |
Gale Norton | Secretary of Interior | G. W. Bush (R) | 2001-06 |
Elaine Chao | Secretary of Labor | G. W. Bush (R) | 2001-09 |
Margaret Spellings | Secretary of Education | G. W. Bush (R) | 2005-09 |
Condoleezza Rice | Secretary of State | G. W. Bush (R) | 2005-09 |
| Mary Peters | Secretary of Transportation | G. W. Bush (R) | 2006-09 |
Susan Schwab | U. S. Trade Representative* | G. W. Bush (R) | 2006-09 |
Hillary Rodham Clinton | Secretary of State | Obama (D) | 2009- |
Janet A. Napolitano | Secretary of Homeland Security | Obama (D) | 2009- |
Christina Romer | Chair Council of Economic Advisors* | Obama (D) | 2009- |
Lisa P. Jackson | Environmental Protection Agency* | Obama (D) | 2009- |
Susan Rice | U. N. Ambassador* | Obama (D) | 2009- |
Hilda Solis | Secretary of Labor | Obama (D) | 2009- |
Kathleen Sebelius | Secretary of Health and Human Services | Obama (D) | 2009- |
* This position was considered a cabinet-level position in the administration in which the woman served.
