When Biden formed the cabinet, the Democratic Party hoped that he would favor women and give them more senior positions. As far as Biden is concerned, he is also willing to do so. This can be seen from the important positions he has selected, and in the coming weeks, Biden may appoint more female senior officials. Then let us take a look at this maiden army of the Biden administration.
There may be more than 50% of women in Biden’s administration, and more in high-level positions
Biden vowed to emphasize diversity when forming the team, and he has selected women in a series of key positions. He appointed California Democratic Senator Kamala Harris as the vice president. This historic choice made her the first woman, the first black, and the first Indian vice president.
At the same time, Biden also appointed Shuwanza Gove as deputy director of the Legislative Affairs Office, which is the first time among black women. Goff was previously on the board of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and helped the Democrats set the agenda. In addition, Biden has appointed women as his White House advisers and deputy chief of staff.
Data show that 52% of Biden-Harris’s new government employees during the transition period are women, and more than half of the 500 members of the Biden government agency review team are women.
A transitional government official stated in a statement submitted to Congress: “Biden will consciously seek out different voices to formulate and implement his policy vision to meet our country’s most severe challenges.”
Biden said in his victory speech that he wants his government to look and act more like the United States. This shows that he will promote women to positions of power as promised during the campaign.
He said: “If our ultimate goal is to form a government that looks like the United States, then having a transition team that looks like the United States will only make the process easier.”
The most important Ministry of Finance, Yellen gave the market more confidence in recovery
This week Biden chose Janet Yellen, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, as his finance secretary.
If Yellen’s nomination is confirmed by the Senate, she will become the first woman to hold this position.
Her main task is to lead the Biden administration to deal with the economic recession brought about by the coronavirus epidemic, because the epidemic has caused severe damage to the economy and caused millions of Americans to lose their jobs. She will also be required to honor Biden’s campaign promise to narrow the economic gap between the rich, middle class and poor in the United States.
Biden’s decision is also a balance of differences within his party. He once said that the Secretary of Finance will be a person accepted by all members of the Democratic Party, from progressives to moderates. Now he has basically fulfilled his promise.
American Democrats and some progressive groups have praised Yellen as a pioneering choice and expressed confidence that she will promote difficult transactions with big banks.
At the same time Yellen also has a certain reputation in the business world, because she won the respect of Wall Street when she was the chairman of the Federal Reserve. Wall Street considers her to be a predictable figure, and during her time as the chairman of the Federal Reserve, the market has achieved good trends.
In senior positions in the Ministry of Defense and National Security, women are expected to go further
Avril Haynes was appointed Director of the National Intelligence Agency by Biden on Tuesday, making him the first woman to hold that position.
On the same day, when she received Biden’s appointment, she said: “Mr. President, you know that even in the face of power, I am not afraid to tell the truth. This will be my duty as the Director of the National Intelligence Agency. I accept this nomination. After working for you for a long time, I know that you value the views of the intelligence community. So even if what I say one day makes you feel uncomfortable, I think you will still value our views as always.”
In high-level positions related to national security, more women are being considered.
Frunoy served as the deputy secretary of defense responsible for policy during the Obama administration and also worked at the Pentagon during the Clinton administration. If Biden chooses her, she will become the first woman to serve as the director of the Pentagon.
Hines served as the deputy director of the CIA and later served as the chief deputy national security adviser under former President Obama. She has resigned from the position of associate director of Columbia World Program at Columbia University. Because the Trump administration continues to refuse to cooperate with Biden’s transition team on intelligence sharing and other matters, Hines, as one of the few national security experts, briefed the Biden team on Tuesday.
There is also Rice, who served as the US ambassador to the United Nations and national security adviser in the Obama administration. She was also seen as a contender for the vice president. Rice has participated in the mediation of the Paris climate agreement and the Iran nuclear agreement. Although the Trump administration has withdrawn from these two agreements, it is expected that the United States will rejoin these two organizations after Biden takes office.
Biden’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will also have more women
This week Biden also announced the appointment of veteran diplomat Linda Thomas Greenfield as US ambassador to the United Nations. The “Washington Post” reported on the weekend that the former foreign affairs official will be a prominent and high-profile black woman in Biden’s cabinet and diplomatic government positions. Because Greenfield has a convincing resume: She has a 35-year diplomatic career, and from 2013 to 2017, she served as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs under former President Obama.
When accepting the appointment, Greenfield said: “On this day, I think of the American people, my diplomat friends and civil servant colleagues all over the world. I want to tell you that the United States is back, multilateralism is back, and diplomacy is back. .”
Those who are familiar with Greenfield also agreed with Biden’s choice.
Wendy Sherman, who served as the Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs in the Obama administration, told USA Today: “Greenfield knows peacekeeping, she knows the United Nations, and she knows developing countries.”
And former conference member Tom Perrero said on Twitter that she is “a powerful force. Greenfield, as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, can play a key role in inspiring a new generation of Americans to consider diplomacy. We need to use American society.” To rebuild our diplomatic mission.”
The proportion of women in the Biden administration is not only more than Trump, but also more than Obama
Compared with the Trump administration where white men are a majority, the number of women appointed to senior positions in the Biden administration has greatly increased.
There are currently three women serving in the Trump cabinet, including Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Transportation Secretary Elaine Joe and CIA Director Gina Haspel-the first woman in charge of the CIA.
Trump’s White House has more women in high-level positions, including his two senior communications assistants Kylie McNerney and Alyssa Farah, his domestic policy adviser Brooke Rollins, and his senior adviser Huo Hicks, and his daughter and senior advisor Ivanka. Kylian Conway was Trump’s third campaign manager in 2016 and the first woman to successfully run the US presidential campaign. She also served as a senior adviser at the White House before leaving this summer.
According to data from the Center for Women and Politics in the United States, 30% of Obama’s cabinet during his first term was composed of women, and women accounted for 35% of his cabinet during his second term.
32% of the cabinet of former President Clinton during his first term was made up of women, and during his second term, this figure jumped to 41%.
26% of Trump’s cabinet is composed of women, which is slightly more than that of the former President Bush’s administration. 19% of the cabinet in the first term of the Bush administration was composed of women, and 24% in the second term.
The number of women appointed by Biden only increased the number of women holding important positions in Washington. In past elections, the number of women elected to parliament also set a new record.
