Currently, only seven out of 23 cabinet-ranked positions in the US government are occupied by women. 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% 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.”
Barack Obama’s cabinet breakdown doesn’t rise to that level, but its 30% of women is more than in other branches and levels of the US government. Nationwide, only 24.5% of state legislators are women, 20% of US senators, 19.3% of US representatives, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. Only 6 US states have women governors, and 19 of America’s largest 100 cities have women mayors.