Obama Has Made Little Progress on Top Jobs for Women

Reports that President Obama has settled on Larry Summers as the next Fed chairman will almost certainly bring up his record of appointing women to high positions.

New York Times:
“Behind the roiling conversation over whether President Obama might
make Janet L. Yellen the first female leader of the Federal Reserve is
an uncomfortable reality for the White House: the administration has
named no more women to high-level executive branch posts than the
Clinton administration did almost two decades ago.”

“Over
all, Mr. Obama has named 13 women to cabinet-level posts, matching the
historic high achieved by the Clinton administration. Mr. Obama has also
put a record number of women in judicial slots, including two on the
Supreme Court. Women make up about 42 percent of confirmed judges
appointed by Mr. Obama, compared with 22 percent appointed by George W.
Bush and 29 percent by Bill Clinton. Yet the ratio of men to women in
the administration is where it was two decades ago, if not a little more
heavily male. The Obama administration has a smaller proportion of
women in top positions than the Clinton administration did in its second
term, for instance. Women hold about 35 percent of cabinet-level posts,
compared with 41 percent for Mr. Clinton and 24 percent for Mr. Bush at
similar points in their presidencies.”