Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a pay equality roundtable on Tuesday. Mary Altaffer / AP
Hillary Clinton Says She Wants Half of Her Cabinet to Be Women
Only seven out of 23 Cabinet-ranked positions are occupied by women now.
Currently, only seven out of 23 Cabinet-ranked positions in the U.S. government are occupied by women. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wants to change that.
In an interview with Clinton, Cosmopolitan writer Prachi Gupta brought up Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau’s widely-praised decision to make his cabinet 50 percent women. “Do you think that’s an important commitment to make, and would you make a commitment to have at least 50 percent women in a Clinton administration Cabinet?”
Clinton answered: “That is certainly my goal. A very diverse Cabinet representing the talents and experience of the entire country. And since we are a 50-50 country, I would aim to have a 50-50 Cabinet.”
President Obama’s cabinet breakdown doesn’t rise to that level, but its 30 percent of women is more than in other branches and levels of the U.S. government. Nationwide, only 24.5 percent of state legislators are women, 20 percent of U.S. senators, 19.3 percent of U.S. representatives, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. Only six U.S. states have women governors, and 19 of America’s largest 100 cities have women mayors.