# List of the first women holders of political offices in the United States

* Nancy Pelosi (left) was the first woman to serve as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
* Kamala Harris (right) was the first woman to serve as Vice President of the United States.
Throughout the history of the United States, various women have become the first to hold numerous political positions. At the federal level, Frances Perkins became the first female member of the Cabinet of the United States upon becoming Secretary of Labor in 1933. Women have gone on to serve as the heads of various other executive branch departments. Moreover, although no woman has ever been President of the United States, Kamala Harris became the first female Vice President of the United States in 2021.
In the United States Congress, Jeannette Rankin became the first female legislator upon entering the United States House of Representatives. Fifteen years later, Hattie Wyatt Caraway became the first woman to serve in the United States Senate. In 2007, Nancy Pelosi became the first female Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
At the state level, Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first woman to serve as a governor in the United States, becoming Governor of Wyoming in 1925. Women have also been the first in statewide positions such as lieutenant governor and legislative speaker.
Finally, at the local level, Susanna M. Salter became the first female mayor in the United States, becoming the chief executive of Argonia, Kansas in 1887. Women have also been the first to serve on other municipal positions, including boards of education.
This article excludes women firsts in American judicial courts. In the federal judiciary, although six women have served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, there has never been a female chief justice of the United States.

## Federal

* United States House of Representatives - Jeannette Rankin - 1917
* United States Senate - Rebecca Latimer Felton - 1922 (appointed) Hattie Wyatt Caraway - 1932 (elected)
* Speaker of the United States House of Representatives - Nancy Pelosi - 2007
* Vice President of the United States - Kamala Harris - 2021

### Executive
#### Cabinet

* Secretary of State - Madeleine Albright - 1997
* Secretary of the Treasury - Janet Yellen - 2021
* Attorney General - Janet Reno - 1993
* Secretary of the Interior - Gale Norton - 2001
* Secretary of Agriculture - Ann Veneman - 2001
* Secretary of Commerce - Juanita M. Kreps - 1977
* Secretary of Labor - Frances Perkins - 1933 (First female in history to be appointed to the Cabinet)
* Secretary of Health and Human Services - Oveta Culp Hobby - 1953 (The position was established as Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare on April 11, 1953; Renamed on May 4, 1980)
* Secretary of Housing and Urban Development - Carla Anderson Hills - 1975
* Secretary of Transportation - Elizabeth Dole - 1983
* Secretary of Energy - Hazel R. O'Leary - 1993
* Secretary of Education - Shirley Hufstedler - 1979
* Secretary of Homeland Security - Janet Napolitano - 2009

#### Department heads

In addition to the positions listed below, in 2003, Susan Livingstone became the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of the Navy in an acting capacity.
| Name | Start of tenure | End of tenure | Title of department | Notes |
| Megan Brennan | February 1, 2015 | June 15, 2020 | Postmaster General | The postmaster general ceased to be a member of the United States Cabinet in 1971. |
| Sheila Widnall | August 6, 1993 | October 31, 1997 | Secretary of the Air Force | The secretary of the Air Force ceased to be a member of the United States Cabinet in 1949. |
| Christine Wormuth | May 28, 2021 | January 20, 2025 | Secretary of the Army | The secretary of the Army ceased to be a member of the United States Cabinet in 1949. |

#### Advisors

| Name | Start of tenure | End of tenure | Title of office |
| Carla Anderson Hills | February 6, 1989 | January 20, 1993 | Trade Representative |
| Laura Tyson | February 5, 1993 | April 22, 1995 | Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers |
| Laura Tyson | February 21, 1995 | December 12, 1996 | Director of the National Economic Council |
| Alice Rivlin | October 17, 1994 | April 26, 1996 | Director of the Office of Management and Budget |
| Condoleezza Rice | January 20, 2001 | January 26, 2005 | National Security Advisor |
| Susie Wiles | January 20, 2025 | Incumbent | White House Chief of Staff |

### Legislative
#### Senate

| Name | Start of first term | End of last term | State of first | Notes |
| Rebecca Latimer Felton | October 3, 1922 | November 22, 1922 | Georgia | Felton was the first woman to be appointed to the United States Senate. |
| Hattie Caraway | November 13, 1931 | January 3, 1945 | Arkansas | Caraway was the first woman to be elected to the United States Senate, in 1932. She is also the first woman to preside over the Senate, in 1943. |
| Rose McConnell Long | January 31, 1936 | January 3, 1937 | Louisiana | |
| Dixie Bibb Graves | August 20, 1937 | January 10, 1938 | Alabama | |
| Gladys Pyle | November 9, 1938 | January 3, 1939 | South Dakota | |
| Margaret Chase Smith | January 3, 1949 | January 3, 1973 | Maine | Smith was the first woman to serve in both houses of the United States Congress. |
| Eva Bowring | April 16, 1954 | November 7, 1954 | Nebraska | |
| Maurine Neuberger | November 9, 1960 | January 3, 1967 | Oregon | |
| Muriel Humphrey | January 25, 1978 | November 7, 1978 | Minnesota | |
| Nancy Kassebaum | December 23, 1978 | January 3, 1997 | Kansas | |
| Paula Hawkins | January 1, 1981 | January 3, 1987 | Florida | |
| Barbara Mikulski | January 3, 1987 | January 3, 2017 | Maryland | |
| Jocelyn Burdick | September 12, 1992 | December 14, 1992 | North Dakota | |
| Dianne Feinstein | November 4, 1992 | September 29, 2023 | California | |
| Carol Moseley Braun | January 3, 1993 | January 3, 1999 | Illinois | |
| Patty Murray | January 3, 1993 | Incumbent | Washington | Murray became the first female president pro tempore of the United States Senate in 2023. |
| Kay Bailey Hutchison | June 14, 1993 | January 3, 2013 | Texas | |
| Debbie Stabenow | January 3, 2001 | January 3, 2025 | Michigan | |
| Jean Carnahan | January 3, 2001 | November 23, 2002 | Missouri | |
| Hillary Clinton | January 3, 2001 | January 21, 2009 | New York | |
| Lisa Murkowski | December 20, 2002 | Incumbent | Alaska | |
| Elizabeth Dole | January 3, 2003 | January 3, 2009 | North Carolina | |
| Jeanne Shaheen | January 3, 2009 | Incumbent | New Hampshire | |
* Arizona – Martha McSally & Kyrsten Sinema - 2019
* Delaware – Lisa Blunt Rochester - 2025
* Hawaii – Mazie Hirono - 2013
* Iowa – Joni Ernst - 2015
* Massachusetts - Elizabeth Warren - 2013
* Mississippi - Cindy Hyde-Smith - 2018
* Nevada – Catherine Cortez Masto - 2017
* Tennessee – Marsha Blackburn - 2019
* West Virginia – Shelley Moore Capito - 2015
* Wisconsin – Tammy Baldwin - 2013
* Wyoming – Cynthia Lummis - 2021

#### House of Representatives

Mississippi is the only state that has not had female representation in the United States House of Representatives.
| Name | Start of first term | End of last term | State of first | Notes |
| Jeannette Rankin | March 4, 1917 | March 3, 1919 | Montana (MT-AL) | Rankin was the first woman elected to the House of Representatives. She was also the first woman to run for a seat in the United States Senate, in 1918. |
| Jeannette Rankin | January 3, 1941 | January 3, 1943 | Montana (MT-1) | Rankin was the first woman elected to the House of Representatives. She was also the first woman to run for a seat in the United States Senate, in 1918. |
| Alice Robertson | March 4, 1921 | March 3, 1923 | Oklahoma (OK-2) | |
| Winnifred Mason Huck | November 7, 1922 | March 3, 1923 | Illinois (IL-AL) | |
| Mae Nolan | January 23, 1923 | March 3, 1925 | California (CA-5) | |
| Mary Teresa Norton | March 4, 1925 | January 3, 1951 | New Jersey (NJ-12; 1925–1933) | |
| Mary Teresa Norton | March 4, 1925 | January 3, 1951 | New Jersey (NJ-13; 1933–1951) | |
| Edith Nourse Rogers | June 30, 1925 | September 10, 1960 | Massachusetts (MA-5) | |
| Katherine G. Langley | March 4, 1927 | March 4, 1931 | Kentucky (KY-10) | |
| Pearl P. Oldfield | January 11, 1929 | March 4, 1931 | Arkansas (AR-2) | |
| Ruth Bryan Owen | March 4, 1929 | March 3, 1933 | Florida (FL-4) | |
| Ruth Baker Pratt | March 4, 1929 | March 3, 1933 | New York (NY-17) | |
| Willa Blake Eslick | August 13, 1932 | March 3, 1933 | Tennessee (TN-7) | |
| Virginia E. Jenckes | March 4, 1933 | January 3, 1939 | Indiana (IN-6) | |
| Kathryn O'Loughlin McCarthy | March 4, 1933 | January 3, 1935 | Kansas (KS-6) | |
| Isabella Greenway | October 3, 1933 | January 3, 1937 | Arizona (AZ-AL) | |
| Nan Wood Honeyman | January 3, 1937 | January 3, 1939 | Oregon (OR-3) | |
| Elizabeth Hawley Gasque | September 13, 1938 | January 3, 1939 | South Carolina (SC-6) | |
| Frances P. Bolton | February 27, 1940 | January 3, 1969 | Ohio (OH-22) | |
| Margaret Chase Smith | June 3, 1940 | January 3, 1949 | Maine (ME-2) | Smith was the first woman to serve in both houses of the United States Congress. |
| Florence Reville Gibbs | October 3, 1940 | January 3, 1941 | Georgia (GA-6) | |
| Katharine Byron | May 27, 1941 | January 3, 1943 | Maryland (MD-6) | |
| Veronica Grace Boland | November 3, 1942 | January 3, 1943 | Pennsylvania (PA-11) | |
| Clare Boothe Luce | January 3, 1943 | January 3, 1947 | Connecticut (CT-4) | |
| Eliza Jane Pratt | May 25, 1946 | January 3, 1947 | North Carolina (NC-8) | |
| Georgia Lee Lusk | January 3, 1947 | January 3, 1949 | New Mexico (NM-AL; Seat A) | |
| Reva Beck Bosone | January 3, 1949 | January 3, 1953 | Utah (UT-2) | |
| Ruth Thompson | January 3, 1951 | January 3, 1957 | Michigan (MI-9) | |
| Elizabeth Kee | July 17, 1951 | January 3, 1965 | West Virginia (WV-5) | |
| Gracie Pfost | January 3, 1953 | January 3, 1963 | Idaho (ID-1) | |
| Leonor Sullivan | January 3, 1953 | January 3, 1977 | Missouri (MO-3) | |
| Coya Knutson | January 3, 1955 | January 3, 1959 | Minnesota (MN-9) | |
| Catherine Dean May | January 3, 1959 | January 3, 1971 | Washington (WA-4) | |
| Patsy Mink | January 3, 1965 | January 3, 1977 | Hawaii (HI-AL; Seat B; 1965–1971) | |
| Patsy Mink | January 3, 1965 | January 3, 1977 | Hawaii (HI-2; 1971–1977) | |
| Patsy Mink | September 22, 1990 | September 28, 2002 | Hawaii (HI-2) | |
| Lera Millard Thomas | March 26, 1966 | January 3, 1967 | Texas (TX-8) | |
| Elizabeth B. Andrews | April 4, 1972 | January 3, 1973 | Alabama (AL-3) | |
| Pat Schroeder | January 3, 1973 | January 3, 1997 | Colorado (CO-1) | |
| Lindy Boggs | March 20, 1973 | January 3, 1991 | Louisiana (LA-2) | |
| Virginia D. Smith | January 3, 1975 | January 3, 1991 | Nebraska (NE-3) | |
| Claudine Schneider | January 3, 1981 | January 3, 1991 | Rhode Island (RI-2) | |
| Barbara Vucanovich | January 3, 1983 | January 3, 1997 | Nevada (NV-2) | |
| Leslie Byrne | January 3, 1993 | January 3, 1995 | Virginia (VA-11) | |
| Barbara Cubin | January 3, 1995 | January 3, 2009 | Wyoming (WY-AL) | |
| Tammy Baldwin | January 3, 1999 | January 3, 2013 | Wisconsin (WI-2) | |
| Stephanie Herseth Sandlin | July 12, 2004 | January 3, 2011 | South Dakota (SD-AL) | |
| Carol Shea-Porter | January 3, 2007 | January 3, 2011 | New Hampshire (NH-1) | |
| Carol Shea-Porter | January 3, 2013 | January 3, 2015 | New Hampshire (NH-1) | |
| Carol Shea-Porter | January 3, 2017 | January 3, 2019 | New Hampshire (NH-1) | |
| Lisa Blunt Rochester | January 3, 2017 | January 3, 2025 | Delaware (DE-AL) | |
| Cindy Axne | January 3, 2019 | January 3, 2023 | Iowa (IA-3) | |
| Abby Finkenauer | January 3, 2019 | January 3, 2021 | Iowa (IA-1) | |
| Mary Peltola | September 13, 2022 | January 3, 2025 | Alaska (AK-AL) | |
| Becca Balint | January 3, 2023 | Incumbent | Vermont (VT-AL) | |
| Julie Fedorchak | January 3, 2025 | Incumbent | North Dakota (ND-AL) | |

##### Non-voting members

| Name | Start of first term | End of last term | Territory of first |
| Eleanor Holmes Norton | January 3, 1991 | Incumbent | Washington, D.C. (DC-AL) |
| Donna Christensen | January 3, 1997 | January 3, 2015 | United States Virgin Islands (VI-AL) |
| Madeleine Bordallo | January 3, 2003 | January 3, 2019 | Guam (GU-AL) |
| Amata Coleman Radewagen | January 3, 2015 | Incumbent | American Samoa (AS-AL) |
| Jenniffer González-Colón | January 3, 2017 | January 2, 2025 | Puerto Rico (PR-AL) |
| Kimberlyn King-Hinds | January 3, 2025 | Incumbent | Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI-AL) |

## State
### Governors

* Wyoming – Nellie Tayloe Ross in 1925
* Texas – Miriam A. Ferguson in 1925
* Alabama – Lurleen Wallace in 1967
* Connecticut – Ella T. Grasso in 1975
* Washington – Dixy Lee Ray in 1977
* New Hampshire – Vesta M. Roy in 1982
* Kentucky – Martha Collins in 1983
* Vermont – Madeleine Kunin in 1985
* Nebraska – Kay A. Orr in 1987
* Arizona – Rose Mofford in 1988
* Kansas – Joan Finney in 1991
* Oregon – Barbara Roberts in 1991
* New Jersey – Christine Todd Whitman in 1994
* Ohio – Nancy Hollister in 1998
* Montana – Judy Martz in 2001
* Delaware – Ruth Ann Minner in 2001
* Massachusetts – Jane Swift in 2001
* Hawaii – Linda Lingle in 2002
* Michigan – Jennifer Granholm in 2003
* Utah – Olene Walker in 2003
* Louisiana – Kathleen Blanco in 2004
* Alaska – Sarah Palin in 2006
* North Carolina – Bev Perdue in 2009
* New Mexico – Susana Martinez in 2011
* Oklahoma – Mary Fallin in 2011
* South Carolina – Nikki Haley in 2011
* Rhode Island – Gina Raimondo in 2015
* Iowa – Kim Reynolds in 2017
* Maine – Janet Mills in 2019
* South Dakota – Kristi Noem in 2019
* New York – Kathy Hochul in 2021
* Arkansas – Sarah Huckabee Sanders in 2023

### Other officials

* State legislator – Carrie C. Holly, Clara Cressingham, and Frances S. Klock, all of Colorado in 1894
* State Senator – Martha Hughes Cannon of Utah in 1896
* First woman to serve in both houses of a state legislature – Edna Beard of Vermont in 1923
* Speaker of a state legislature – Minnie Davenport Craig of North Dakota in 1933
* Lieutenant governor – Consuelo Northrop Bailey of Vermont in 1955
* Majority leader of a state senate – Sandra Day O'Connor of Arizona in 1972

## Local

* Superintendent of Public Education – Ellen Webster in 1872 in Harvey County, Kansas
* Superintendent of Public Education – Mary Higby in 1872 in Labette County, Kansas
* Board of Education – Lydia Sayer Hasbrouck in 1880
* Mayor – Susanna M. Salter in 1887
* Chief of the Cherokee Nation – Wilma Mankiller in 1985
* Chairwoman of the Tohono O'odham Nation – Vivian Juan-Saunders in 2003