Women in Politics Contemporary Timeline
For the scope of this timeline, we will focus on formal political appointments, beginning in the 1910s.
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Jeannette Rankin, 1916Jeannette Rankin, first woman, and first suffragette elected into the House of Representatives.
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Rebecca Latimer Felton,1922Oldest and first woman in U.S. Senate.
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Nellie Tayloe Ross, 1924First woman governor. She shared the date inauguration with the other "first" governor, but was inaugurated slightly earlier, maintaining her throne for first.
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Hattie Wyatt Caraway, 1932First women elected to U.S. Senate. She completed her deceased husband's term in 1931, but ran for, and won the election in 1932.
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Frances Perkins, 1933First woman U.S. Secretary of Labor. This quote shows that she was a good addition to FDR's cabinet: "I came to Washington to work for God, FDR, and the millions of forgotten, plain common workingmen."
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Margaret Chase Smith, 1964First woman nominated for President by a major party.
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Shirley Chisolm, 1968First African-American woman elected to U.S. House of Representatives. In 1972, she ran for President, and made it onto 12 primary ballots.
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Geraldine Ferraro, 1984First woman nominated for Vice President by a major political party.
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Carol Moseley Braun, 1992First African-American woman elected to the U.S. Senate.
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Hillary Rodham Clinton, 2000First Lady elected to the U.S. Senate, following that with a four-year term as U.S. Secretary of State in 2009. She later ran for President in 2007, but was defeated by President Barack Obama. Clinton then ran for President in 2016, and won the popular vote, but reality TV show host Donald Trump won the electoral vote, resulting in his presidency.
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Nancy Pelosi, 2007First woman chosen to be Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Running for Office
Brochures from the National Women's Political Caucus of Santa Clara County Records, SJSU Special Collections & Archives.
Women Voters
Suffrage flyer from the International Museum of Women Records, SJSU Special Collections & Archives.
Women in Congress
This photo is of Vera Daerr Buchanan, the first woman member to die in office. See more photos and facts at the United States House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives page, Women in Congress.