The National Organization for Women gave President Obama a thumbs up for nominating a woman to be his Secretary of Commerce, but expressed concern that his Cabinet still lacks women.
“The Obama cabinet is only about one-third women. With women making up 51% of the American population, President Obama’s cabinet should accurately reflect this and be one-half women,” NOW president Terry O’Neill said.
The feminist organization’s primary concern is that those who “have the president’s ear” are “still overwhelmingly male” and that issues that disproportionately impact women are more likely to be overlooked in such as setting.
O’Neill further noted, that when Obama ran for re-election, women helped put him back in the White House.
“Last November, President Obama ran for re-election pursuing the women’s vote, and women decisively helped deliver him the White House, with 55% of women voting for the president. We now call on the president to listen to the voices that re-elected him and allow more women to have increased influence in his administration,” she concluded.
Obama named Penny Pritzker as his new secretary of Commerce Thursday.