In the words of one biographer, Frances Perkins “did more to put more money in the pockets of average Americans than almost any other leader in American history.”
Perkins was a lifelong public servant who spent her career advocating for many of the policies modern workers might take for granted — things like pensions, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation and the 40-hour workweek. After years in a variety of social work, public policy and local government roles, she was tapped by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933 to be the Secretary of Labor, becoming the first woman to hold a seat in a presidential cabinet.
Her unwavering pragmatism is what likely helped her get so much done during her tenure; she reportedly swore off stylish garb, believing men were more receptive to women in power when those women resembled their mothers. Indeed, she only failed to accomplish one item on the agenda she had presented to Roosevelt back in 1933: universal health care.
