Per·kins  (pûr'kĭnz)  American social reformer and public official. As U.S. secretary of labor (1933-1945) she was the first woman to hold a cabinet position. |
A political leader and reformer of the twentieth century. After briefly serving at Jane Addams's Hull House, she worked in various reform activities and government positions. In 1933 President Franklin D. Roosevelt made her the first woman to hold a cabinet position when he appointed her secretary of labor. She assisted in drafting much of the New Deal legislation, including that which created the Social Security System.