Frances Perkins Makes History: First Woman Cabinet Secretary
Frances Perkins became the first woman to hold a U.S. cabinet post when Roosevelt appointed her Labor Secretary in 1933. She shaped New Deal legislation, crafting the Social Security Act that established unemployment benefits and pensions for elderly Americans while defining the forty-hour work week. Her leadership also secured minimum wage laws and kept women out of military drafts during World War II to expand their civilian workforce participation.
March 4, 1933
93 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on March 4
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