The following list includes women who have held permanent cabinet positions, all of whom are in the line of succession to the presidency. The table below is organized based on the beginning of their terms in office. Officeholders whose terms begin the same day are listed according to the presidential order of succession. :
denotes the first female holder of that particular office Former permanent cabinet members • The
Secretary of War became defunct when the
Department of War was split between the
Department of the Army and the
Department of the Air Force by the
National Security Act of 1947, and both were absorbed into the Department of Defense in 1949. No woman had ever served while it was a cabinet post. • The
Postmaster General ceased to be a member of the cabinet when the
Post Office Department was re-organized into the
United States Postal Service (USPS) by the
Postal Reorganization Act of 1970. No woman had ever served while it was a cabinet post.
Megan Brennan became the first woman to serve as Postmaster General in 2015. She was appointed after the USPS became an
independent agency of the executive branch. • The Secretary of Commerce and Labor became renamed when the
Department of Commerce and Labor was split between the Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor. The Department of Commerce is considered a continuation of the Department of Commerce and Labor under a new name. No woman had ever served under the original title of the position. • The
Secretary of the Army ceased to be a member of the cabinet when the Department of the Army became a component of the Department of Defense in 1949. No woman had ever served while it was a cabinet post.
Christine Wormuth became the first woman to serve as Secretary of the Army in 2021. She was appointed after it became a position beneath the Secretary of Defense. • The
Secretary of the Navy ceased to be a member of the cabinet when the
Department of the Navy became a component of the Department of Defense in 1949. No woman had ever served while it was a cabinet post.
Susan Livingstone became the first woman to serve as acting Secretary of the Navy in 2003. She was appointed after it became a position beneath the Secretary of Defense. • The
Secretary of the Air Force ceased to be a member of the cabinet when the Department of the Air Force became a component of the Department of Defense in 1949. No woman had ever served while it was a cabinet post.
Sheila Widnall became the first woman to serve as Secretary of the Air Force in 1993. She was appointed after it became a position beneath the Secretary of Defense. ==Cabinet-level positions==