Appointed first director of the U.S. Women’s Bureau, becoming the first woman from labor to lead a federal executive department.
On June 5, 1920, Mary Anderson was appointed the first director of the Women’s Bureau in the U.S. Department of Labor. This appointment was a historic milestone as Anderson became the first woman "up from the ranks" of the labor movement to head an executive branch of the federal government. Her leadership transformed the Bureau into a pivotal entity advocating for better labor policies and protections for women workers, establishing standards that resonated nationwide.