Who are the most influential women in American politics? 

When we say women in American politics, many figures come to mind, and right now, off the top of my head, are Susie Wiles, Kamala Harris, and Shirley Chisholm.

However, women made history and made contributions to American politics long before they were granted the right to vote. Despite many obstacles, American women have advanced through the ranks to hold important positions in the government, from the judiciary to the executive branch.

In 2020, Kamala Harris became the first female vice president, almost 40 years after Sandra Day O’Connor became the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court in 1981. Susie Wiles became the first female White House chief of staff in President Donald Trump’s second term, marking yet another historic first.

In the following lines, you will meet some of the most influential women in American politics, women who managed to succeed despite hardships in a world ruled by men.

Elaine Chao

She is one of the first Asian women in American politics, who served in a presidential cabinet when President George W. Bush selected her as his Secretary of Labor back in 2001.

Chao, is the only woman in the cabinet to serve in her position for the entire eight years of Bush’s presidency. In her capacity as Labor Secretary, she revised laws pertaining to union financial disclosures and overtime for millions of workers.

In 2017, Chao came back to serve in a different president’s cabinet as the Transportation Secretary under Donald Trump. She worked to ease transportation regulations during her time there, including lowering the greenhouse gas emissions requirements for automobiles. The day after the assault on the White House on January 6, 2021, Chao resigned.

Jeannette Rankin

Jeannette Rankin was among the most influential women in American politics, a true example of how an advocate for women’s rights should be.

In 1917, Jeannette Rankin, a spokesperson for equal rights for women, was elected as the first female member of Congress. In 1916, 36-year-old Rankin was elected as a Republican to the House of Representatives after successfully securing women’s voting rights in both her home state of Montana and Washington.

Days after taking office, the Montana representative voted against a bill that would have allowed the US to enter World War I. She also helped lead the formation of the Committee on Woman Suffrage during her time there, which proposed a constitutional amendment to grant women the right to vote nationally.

Following the failure of her 1918 reelection campaign, Rankin devoted the next twenty years to promoting peace both domestically and internationally. In 1940, she ran for and won a seat in the U.S. House in Montana, marking her eventual comeback to politics.

Sandra Day O’Connor

The first female member of the U.S. Supreme Court was Sandra Day O’Connor. She was one of the women in American politics who put her mark on history quite well.

O’Connor rose through the ranks to the nation’s highest court at the age of 51 after holding positions in all three branches of state government, including as Arizona’s attorney general, state senator, and circuit judge.

She played a key role in numerous historic cases during her more than 20 years as an associate justice, having been appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981.

O’Connor, regarded as a moderate conservative, generally voted according to the Republican platform, but occasionally sided with the court’s liberal members. She authored almost 700 opinions on the bench, about half of which were the majority opinion, and she frequently cast the decisive vote in 5-4 rulings.

She was the author of the court’s 1982 ruling in Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan, which declared that the Equal Protection Clause had been broken by a nursing school’s single-sex admissions policy.

O’Connor broke the tie in the controversial Bush v. Gore case in 2000, which resulted in George W. Bush winning the presidency, and two years later, she supported the constitutional right to abortion established by Roe v. Wade with her swing vote in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

Unfortunately, Sandra Day O’Connor passed away two years ago, in 2023.

Tammy Duckworth

Another woman who was absolutely devoted to her country, being among the great women in American politics, is Tammy Duckworth. She is the first elected female member of Congress with a disability. After losing both of her legs in combat in Iraq, Duckworth faced the odds to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012, serving as the representative for Illinois’ 8th District.

Her victory opened the road for other disabled women and other female veterans, making them feel more secure and proud in their own skin. Duckworth, a two-term congresswoman, served on several committees, including the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, where she gained notoriety in 2013 after interrogating Braulio Castillo, the CEO of Strong Castle, about using a false identity as a disabled military veteran to obtain millions of dollars in federal contracts.

Duckworth became the second Asian American woman elected to the U.S. Senate and the first woman with a disability when she ran for the Senate in 2016.

Curious about more things related to the history of women in America, both focused on famous figures and the role of women in society? Then you might like this book.

A History of Women in America: From Founding Mothers to Feminists—How Women Shaped the Life and Culture of America, written by Carol Hymowitz and Michaele Weissman, is a study that examines the issues that changed the roles and lives of women in our society. It’s worth having it in your collection.

Kamala Harris

Among the influential women in American politics, Kamala Harris sits pretty high at the top. She achieved several firsts in her career, including being the first Asian American and Black woman to be nominated for president by a major party and the first woman to serve as the vice president of the United States.

Harris became only the second Black woman and the first South Asian American to serve in the U.S. Senate after serving as California’s first Black and female attorney general.

As a member of the Senate Judiciary and Intelligence Committees, the Democrat gained notoriety there for her prosecutorial approach to questioning witnesses, such as Justice Brett Kavanaugh of the Supreme Court and former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

She left the 2020 presidential race to run as Joe Biden’s running mate, and in November of that year, she was elected vice president. She is the only Asian American, Black, and female to have held the position.

As Biden’s deputy, Harris cast a record number of tie-breaking votes in the U.S. Senate and pushed for legislation on voting rights, immigration, and access to abortion.

Susie Wiles

Last but not least of the most appreciated women in American politics is Susie Wiles. Susie Wiles was the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff in January 2025.

In her long career as a conservative political consultant, the 67-year-old has contributed to the presidential campaigns of George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and, most recently, Donald Trump.

She successfully oversaw Trump’s campaign operations in Florida in 2016 and was reappointed in 2020. Wiles was the CEO of Trump’s political action group, Save America, after he departed the White House the following year.

She also co-chaired his third presidential campaign in 2022. Wiles is now in charge of the president’s day-to-day operations after demonstrating her loyalty as a strength.

Related article: 11 Influential First Ladies Who Shaped American History.