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.
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, 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.
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. 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. 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. 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.
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.
denotes the first female holder of that particular office
NameOfficeSuccessionStartEndPartyPresident(s)1*Secretary of Labor—rowspan=2 Democratic(1933–1945)(1945–1953)2*Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare12rowspan=2 Republican(1953–1961)3*Secretary of Housing and Urban Development13(1974–1977)4*Secretary of Commerce10rowspan=4 Democratic(1977–1981)5/6Secretary of Housing and Urban Development13Secretary of Health and Human Services127*Secretary of Education168*Secretary of Transportation14rowspan=6 Republican(1981–1989)9Secretary of Health and Human Services1210Secretary of Labor1111Secretary of Labor11(1989–1993)12Secretary of Labor1113Secretary of Commerce1014Secretary of Health and Human Services12rowspan=5 Democratic(1993–2001)15*Secretary of Energy1516*Attorney General717*Secretary of State418Secretary of Labor1119*Secretary of Agriculture9rowspan=6 Republican(2001–2009)20Secretary of Labor1121*Secretary of the Interior822Secretary of Education1623Secretary of State424Secretary of Transportation1425Secretary of State4rowspan=8 Democratic(2009–2017)26*Secretary of Homeland Security1827Secretary of Labor1128Secretary of Health and Human Services1229Secretary of the Interior830Secretary of Commerce1031Secretary of Health and Human Services1232Attorney General733Secretary of Transportation14rowspan=3 Republican(2017–2021)34Secretary of Education1635Secretary of Homeland Security1836*Vice President1rowspan=6 Democratic(2021–2025)37*Secretary of the Treasury538Secretary of Energy1539Secretary of Commerce1040Secretary of Housing and Urban Development13March 22, 202441Secretary of the Interior842Secretary of Homeland Security18rowspan=5 Republican(2025–present)43Attorney General744Secretary of Agriculture9Incumbent45Secretary of Education16Incumbent46Secretary of Labor11
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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
NameOfficeStartEndPartyPresident(s)1*Counselor to the Presidentrowspan=4 Republican(1969–1974)(1974–1977)2*United States Ambassador to the United Nations(1981–1989)3*United States Trade Representative(1989–1993)4Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agencyrowspan=7 Democratic(1993–2001)5United States Ambassador to the United Nations6*Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers7*Director of the Office of Management and Budget8Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers9Administrator of the Small Business Administration10United States Trade Representative11Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agencyrowspan=2 Republican(2001–2009)12United States Trade Representative13Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agencyrowspan=8 Democratic(2009–2017)14United States Ambassador to the United Nations15Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers16Administrator of the Small Business Administration17Director of the Office of Management and Budget18Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency19United States Ambassador to the United Nations20Administrator of the Small Business Administration21United States Ambassador to the United Nationsrowspan=4 Republican(2017–2021)22Administrator of the Small Business Administration23*Director of the Central Intelligence Agency24Administrator of the Small Business Administration25*Director of National Intelligencerowspan=7 Democratic(2021–2025)26United States Ambassador to the United Nations27Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers28Administrator of the Small Business Administration29United States Trade Representative30Director of the Office of Management and Budget31*Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy32*White House Chief of StaffIncumbentrowspan=3 Republican(2025–present)33Director of National Intelligence34Administrator of the Small Business AdministrationIncumbent
See also 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 List of female defence ministers List of female finance ministers List of female foreign ministers List of female interior ministers List of female justice ministers
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.