| George Washington held the country's first full Cabinet meeting on November 26, 1791. That meeting, and every subsequent Cabinet meeting over the next 142 years, consisted exclusively of men. But all that changed on March 4, 1933, when Frances Perkins became the secretary of labor under President Franklin D. Roosevelt — and the first woman to hold any position in a presidential Cabinet. The occasion was marked several months later by Time, which put Perkins on the cover of its August 14, 1933, edition. Perkins had previously served under FDR in a similar capacity, having been appointed commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor after Roosevelt was elected governor of New York in 1929. Perkins' tenure lasted for the entirety of Roosevelt's 12-year administration, making her the longest-serving secretary of labor in U.S. history. Described by historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. as "brisk and articulate" and "intent on beating sense into the heads of those foolish people who resisted progress," Perkins is best known for her role as chairwoman of the President's Committee on Economic Security, which led to the 1935 act that created Social Security. She was also active in issues around child labor, safety, minimum-wage laws, worker's compensation, and more. She resigned in 1945, after Roosevelt's death, and then served on the United States Civil Service Commission under President Truman until 1952. | 
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