From Frances Perkins’ pivotal role in shaping the Social Security Act to new milestones for women leaders across the U.S. and abroad, this week’s stories spotlight how women’s leadership drives lasting change — and why systems reform remains key to achieving gender parity.
Heather Cox Richardson wrote this week about the 90th anniversary of the Social Security Act, which was signed into law on August 14, 1935, by former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Richardson credits Frances Perkins, the first woman to serve as a cabinet secretary, for her work in turning this idea into law – yet another example of the impact of institutional change in advancing equity.
Frances Perkins, painted by Melanie Humble
The Social Security Act established a federal system of old-age benefits, unemployment insurance, aid to the homeless, dependent, and neglected children, funds to promote maternal and child welfare, and public health services. It was a sweeping reworking of the relationship between the government and its citizens, using the power of taxation to pool funds to provide a basic social safety net.
The driving force behind the law was FDR’s Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins. She was the first woman to hold a position in the U.S. Cabinet and still holds the record for the longest tenure in that job, serving from 1933 to 1945.
Perkins brought to the position a vision of government very different from that of the Republicans who had run it in the 1920s. While men like President Herbert Hoover had embraced the idea of a “rugged individualism” in which men provided for their families on their own, Perkins recognized that the vision of a hardworking man supporting his wife and children was more myth than reality: her own husband suffered from bipolar disorder, making her the family’s primary support. She understood that Americans had always been supportive of one another.
As a child, Perkins spent summers with her grandmother, with whom she was very close, in the small town of Newcastle, Maine, surrounded by a supportive community. In college, at Mount Holyoke, she majored in chemistry and physics. Still, after a professor required students to tour a factory to observe working conditions, Perkins became committed to improving the lives of those trapped in industrial jobs. After college, Perkins became a social worker and, in 1910, earned a master's degree in economics and sociology from Columbia University. She became the head of the New York office of the National Consumers League, urging consumers to use their purchasing power to demand better working conditions and wages for the workers who produced the products they bought.
I visited the Frances Perkins National Monument while I was in Maine in July
Additional milestones this week include the birthdays of these notable women: Lucy Stone – suffragist & abolitionist, former Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, Heidi Hartmann – fellow Swarthmore College grad & former president of the Institute for Women’s Policy Studies, the legendary Julia Child, philanthropist Melinda Gates, Debby Freedman – ED of Community Legal Services Philadelphia, and Sabrina Schaeffer – VP for Public Affairs at R Street Institute.
Women Candidates Across Elected Offices Lead the Way in Washington Primary
The crowd reacts as results come in for city attorney candidate Erika Evans, incumbent Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Rinck, and Seattle City Council candidate Dionne Foster at Stoup Brewing in Seattle. Source: The Seattle Times
In the state's largest city, Seattle's mayoral race has delivered intriguing primary results thus far. On Tuesday, August 5, Seattle and King County held primary elections for mayor of Seattle, King County executive, Seattle city attorney, and Seattle City Council. Incumbent Bruce Harrell and challenger Katie Wilson maintain strong leads after the initial election results on Primary night, with Wilson widening her lead as more votes were counted in the following days. Seattle City Attorney Ann Davidson is trailing challenger Eroka Evans by a double-digit percentage point. The pattern is the same for Council President Sara Nelson, who is trailing challenger Dionne Foster, a former head of a progressive nonprofit. The Seattle Times writes:
Tuesday’s drop of ballots gave us a first glimpse into the political mood of voters in the county and city… The more left-leaning candidate led in every major race: Seattle mayor, King County executive, Seattle city attorney and Seattle City Council. It is a swing away from 2021, when a slate of moderates swept through the primary and general.
Some candidates looked at New York’s mayoral primary as hope times had changed. There, the much more left state Assembly member Zohran Mamdani swept Andrew Cuomo, who had more name recognition and institutional backing. The primary results suggest their hope was not misplaced, as the wave of distaste toward the establishment seems to have reached Seattle and King County.
Mary Sheffield Won the Outright Majority in Detroit Mayoral Primary
Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield participates in a debate with candidates for mayor of Detroit. Source: The Michigan Advance
Last Tuesday (August 5th), Michigan voters in the primary election chose which two of the nine candidates in the Detroit mayor race will advance to the general election. This is because three-term Mayor Mike Duggan is not seeking re-election, as he is running for governor instead of pursuing another term at City Hall. The primary results were “unprecedented”: Sheffield topped the field with 51% of the vote, and runner-up Pastor Solomon Kinlock Jr. received just over 17% of the vote. Before Mr. Duggan’s tenure, Detroit struggled to perform basic city services, lost thousands of residents, and was in the throes of the country’s largest municipal bankruptcy. Twelve years later, the New York Times notes:
…the city’s finances [have] stabilized, the downtown area was transformed, and, for the first time in decades, the Census Bureau estimated slight upticks in Detroit’s population. Yet many residents say they are still waiting to see significant improvements in their neighborhoods.
Ms. Sheffield, who would be the first woman to lead Detroit, has spent 12 years on Detroit’s City Council [under Mr. Duggan] and consistently led in pre-election polling. On the campaign trail, she emphasized her work alongside Mr. Duggan while also calling for increased attention on struggling residential areas.
Ms. Sheffield, an ordained minister who is the daughter of a prominent Detroit pastor, said she would seek to build on what Mr. Duggan had accomplished, rather than shift sharply from his policies.
Mary Sheffield and Solomon Kinloch Jr. will face off in the mayoral general election come this November.
New Report Highlights Progress of Black Women in Elected Offices
Source: Higher Heights Leadership Fund
Women of color are underrepresented at every level in the US government. In 2014, Higher Heights for America and the Center for American Women in Politics released their first report documenting this exact notion. It outlined a historical overview of Black women’s fight for political representation and discusses the current state of political leadership for Black women nationwide, as well as their increasing political influence. More than a decade later, a newly released Black Women in American Politics 2025 Report tracked the number of Black women serving in statewide offices, state legislatures, and Congress, revealing just how far we have come. USA Today writes:
[At] one point in 2025, 402 Black women were serving in state legislatures, up from 240 more than a decade ago. Since 2014, there’s been a 67% increase in the number of Black women in state legislatures…
In the 2024 general election, 63% of Black female congressional nominees won their contests, outpacing the win rates of all female candidates at 49% and male candidates at 53% across race/ethnicity, according to the report.
Many women serving in Congress are former state lawmakers. The number of Black women in Congress has nearly doubled from 17 to 31, including nonvoting delegates, since 2014.
Eight Black women serve as mayors of the 100 most populous cities, including Karen Bass in Los Angeles, Muriel Bowser in Washington and LaToya Cantrell in New Orleans.
Despite these successes, Black female candidates still face challenges, from fundraising and increased misinformation to being targets of political violence. Nonetheless, Gylnda Carr, author of the report, is optimistic about the future, “In 2026, the work is to ensure that we are not losing ground and (that) there’s an infrastructure in place for Black women to run for reelection, for Black women to run for higher office and for more Black women to run.”
Women Lawyers Advocate for Reforms to Break Down Patriarchy within the Legal Profession
Source: FIDA Nigeria. International Federation of Women Lawyers' Facebook post
Female lawyers in Nigeria have called for urgent reforms to address ingrained societal, institutional, and policy barriers that hinder their advancement in the legal profession. These pioneering women gathered in Abuja on July 29 to chart a bold course for progress in leadership within the sector.
Hosted by the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) in collaboration with CoImpact, the roundtable spotlighted the cultural and institutional barriers that continue to hinder women’s progression in law and national development.
Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi presented a new report, "Barriers and Bridges: Women’s Advancement to Leadership in Nigeria’s Legal Profession," which highlighted the weight of societal norms, policy gaps, and entrenched patriarchal systems. CoImpact’s Regional Director for Africa, Mary Wandia, emphasized how institutional bias continues to reinforce male dominance and obstruct gender balance in the sector. As the Daily Trust writes:
Akiyode-Afolabi said women lawyers also face systemic bias and sexual harassment, particularly in private practice, with no effective mechanisms for redress.
“We must transform the culture and value system of the legal profession across all critical pipelines-whether in academia, legal practice, private firms, or within the justice ministry-to enable more women to attain leadership positions.
“Having women at the helm of the legal sector is not just strategic; it has the potential to reshape the law and drive broader societal development for women. This change requires a fundamental redefinition of institutions to make them responsive to gender-specific needs.”
Malawian Presidential Hopefuls Select First-Ever Female Running Mates
A Malawian woman casts her vote. Source: The Commonwealth
Malawi, a southern African nation of 21 million people, will hold presidential elections in September of this year to unseat Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera. For the first time in Malawi's political history, several candidates have nominated women as their running mates. Despite men dominating the political field, women make up the majority of the 2025 electoral roll, with 57% of the registered voters, according to the Malawi Electoral Commission. Young people are advocating for greater inclusion in government due to rising unemployment and increasing living costs. Generally speaking, there is a desire for increased diversity and a shift away from the status quo, despite financial barriers, deeply rooted traditional values, and an entrenched party structure. The DW notes:
Malawians were excited — especially women, young people, and those championing women's rights. However, there was also skepticism, particularly among traditionalists and political loyalists, who questioned the political weight of the women chosen as running mates, many of whom are considered relatively unknown and lacking influence. … [some] Malawians believe that some of the women were selected as running mates as part of a box-ticking exercise, rather than out of a genuine desire to put women at the forefront of political leadership.
Wyandotte County Voters Selected Two Women as Candidates for Mayoral Race
Rose Mulvany Henry (left) and Christal Watson (right). Source: The Kansas City Star
Kansas voters have cast their ballots for the next mayor/CEO and several commissioners. Tyrone Garner, the mayor and CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas (KCK), announced in November that he would not run for re-election. Six candidates emerged to replace him in a primary race. After last Tuesday’s primaries, Rose Mulvany Henry (31%) and Christal Watson (26%) are the candidates who received the most votes and will face off in the 2025 general election this November. Henry, an attorney and executive, currently serves on the Board of Public Utilities. Her campaign has focused on fiscal responsibility, restoring trust in local government, and bringing economic investment to the entire county. Watson, the executive director of the KCK School Foundation for Excellence and economic development advocate, campaigned on a platform focused on community building, equitable housing, workforce development, and modern infrastructure. Whichever candidate wins in November will become the second woman to serve as KCK’s mayor. The first was former Mayor Carol Marinovich, who was elected in 1995 and led the effort to unify the city and county governments.
Portraits of women leaders painted by my dear friend Melanie Humble, who is visiting this week
My daughter & made two batches of pickles last weekend 🥒
And a batch of strawberry jam with berries from Canada 🍓
That’s all for this week, my friends,
Cynthia
Executive Director, RepresentWomen
P.S.
Zinnias & marigolds are thriving in my late-summer garden
My dear friend, Melanie Humble, depicted working on her art 🎨