page_title: List of American women's firsts
section_title: 2010s
hierarchical_section_title: List of American women's firsts / 21st century / 2010s
caption_attribution_description: Official portrait of Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen.
context_page_description: This is a list of American women's firsts, noting the first time that an American woman or women achieved a given historical feat. Inclusion on the list is reserved for achievements by American women that have significant historical impact.
context_section_description: 2010
  Nikki Haley was the first female governor of South Carolina and the first person of an ethnic minority to serve as governor of South Carolina.
  Kathryn Bigelow was the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director,  the BAFTA Award for Best Direction, and the Critics' Choice Award for Best Director, all for  The Hurt Locker (2008).
  Jennifer Gorovitz was the first woman to lead a large Jewish federation in America (specifically, the Jewish Community Federation, based in San Francisco).
  2011
  Angella Reid was the first female White House Chief Usher.
  2012
  Elizabeth MacDonough was the first female appointed as Parliamentarian of the United States Senate.
  Janet Wolfenbarger was the first female four-star general in the U.S. Air Force.
  Katy Perry was the first female artist in history to have five consecutive number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 from one album, thus awarding her with the Billboard Spotlight Award.
  Shannon Eastin was the first woman to officiate a National Football League game in a pre-season matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the San Diego Chargers.
  New Hampshire elects the first all-woman congressional delegation in U.S. history, with U.S. senators Jeanne Shaheen and Kelly Ayotte and U.S. representatives Carol Shea-Porter and Ann McLane Kuster.
  2013
  Danica Patrick was the first woman to win a pole in the Daytona 500 and a NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series race.
  Danica Patrick was the first woman to lead the Daytona 500.
  Rosie Napravnik rode the filly Unlimited Budget to a 6th place finish in the 2013 Belmont, becoming the first woman to ride all three Triple Crown races in the same year.
  Davie Jane Gilmour was the first woman to lead the Board of Directors for Little League.
  Ashley Freiberg was the first woman to claim an overall GT3 Cup Challenge victory in North America, winning the Porsche IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge.
  UFC 157, which took place in February, featured not only the first women’s fight in UFC history but also the first UFC event headlined by two female fighters (Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche).
  Rabbi Deborah Waxman was elected as the President of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. As the President, she is believed to have been the first woman and first lesbian to lead a Jewish congregational union, and the first female rabbi and first lesbian to lead a Jewish seminary; RRC is both a congregational union and a seminary.
  Julia Morgan was the first woman to receive the American Institute of Architects' Gold Medal, which she received posthumously.
  On March 1, 2013, Privateers owner and president Nicole Kirnan served as the team’s coach for the first time, making her the first woman to coach a professional hockey team in the United States.
  Erika Schmidt was the first female director of the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis.
  Mia Hamm was the first woman inducted into the World Football Hall of Fame in Pachuca, Mexico.
  General Motors named Mary Barra as its first female CEO and the first female CEO of a major automaker.
  Deborah Rutter was named as the first female president of the Kennedy Center.
  Jodi Eller was the first woman to complete the 1,515 mile Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail.
  The American Council of the Blind (ACB) voted unanimously to elect Kim Charlson as its president, making her the first female president of a major national blindness consumer advocacy organization in the United States.
  Lauren Silberman was the first woman to try out at an NFL Regional Scouting Combine, and thus the first woman to try out for the NFL (she tried out as a kicker), but she did not succeed.
  Vanessa O'Brien became the first woman to climb the highest peak on each continent (The Seven Summits) in the shortest period of time (295 days), resulting in a Guinness World Record.
  2014
  Janet Yellen was confirmed by the Senate as the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve.
  The first women competed in ski jumping at the Olympics, including three American women - Lindsey Van, Jessica Jerome and Sarah Hendrickson.
  Lauryn Williams was the first American woman to win a med
caption: Janet Yellen official Federal Reserve portrait
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