First woman Assistant Secretary of the Treasury

On December 7, 1934, Josephine Roche was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, becoming the first woman to hold that post and, at the time, the highest‑ranking woman in the U.S. Department of the Treasury.[11][5][18]

Appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt after her pro‑labor campaign for governor of Colorado, Roche entered the Treasury at a pivotal moment in the New Deal. Her portfolio included supervision of the U.S. Public Health Service, then housed in Treasury, and representation of Treasury on the Committee on Economic Security, which was charged with designing national social insurance programs.[11][15]

Roche’s appointment was both a gender and policy breakthrough. Only one woman before her had attained sub‑Cabinet rank, and Time magazine underscored her status as a famed Colorado coal operator turned federal "welfarer".[17] As Assistant Secretary, she advocated for federal responsibility in health care, pushed for improved working conditions for Treasury employees, and worked to integrate public health considerations into economic policy.[11]

Her presence in this senior financial post challenged prevailing assumptions that women belonged in "soft" social agencies rather than economic ministries. Roche used the office to connect labor concerns with fiscal policy, helping to ensure that the New Deal’s economic reforms included protections for workers, children, and the elderly. The December 7 swearing‑in thus marks a genuine first for women in federal economic governance and a crucial step in the evolution of the modern American welfare state.