Sworn in as U.S. Secretary of Labor under FDR, Perkins became the first woman to serve in a presidential Cabinet in American history.
On March 4, 1933, Frances Perkins was sworn in as the United States Secretary of Labor by newly inaugurated President Franklin D. Roosevelt, making her the first woman in American history to serve as a member of a presidential Cabinet. This was a watershed moment for women in American public life, coming just thirteen years after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote nationwide.
Perkins had built her reputation over decades of labor reform work in New York, and Roosevelt, who had worked with her as Governor of New York, trusted her expertise and moral seriousness. Before accepting the position, Perkins famously presented Roosevelt with a list of policy priorities—including unemployment insurance, minimum wage laws, and abolition of child labor—that she would pursue if appointed, and he agreed to support them.
Her appointment shattered a significant barrier in American governance, proving that women could hold the highest executive offices and directly shape national policy. Perkins faced considerable skepticism and outright hostility from many quarters, including labor leaders who doubted a woman could effectively represent workers, yet she persevered.
Her tenure, lasting from 1933 to 1945, would become the longest of any Labor Secretary in U.S. history, and from this position she architected many of the New Deal's most enduring achievements, permanently transforming the American social safety net and setting a precedent for women's leadership at the highest levels of government.