Powerful women in Washington

From the American Red Cross to the Supreme Court, more and more institutions of power in the nation’s capital are seeing women take the lead.

5 Seconds

00:00

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks on the release of the State Department's 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices at the State Department in Washington. In 2000, Clinton made history by becoming the first first lady elected to the United States Senate. In 2009, she became secretary of state.

Haraz N. Ghanbari / AP

Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor steps up to speak after President Obama announced her as his choice of nomination for the Supreme Court justice, to replace retiring Justice David Souter in the East Room at the White House in May 2009. Justice Sotomayor became the first Hispanic woman to serve on the court.

Jim Young / Reuters

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan enters the committee room on the third day of hearings, before testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in June 2010. Kagan became the fourth female to serve on the court.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. secretary of health and human services, second from left, meets with insurance industry executives and officials at the White House in March 2010. Sebelius was the second female governor of Kansas, and in 2011, she was named the 13th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

Brendan Hoffman / Bloomberg

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, shown in her office in Washington in April 2010, was Arizona’s third female governor and the first female attorney general of Arizona.

Bill O'Leary / The Washington Post

Acting D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson congratulates the Class of 2011 Most Improved Student Award winners inside the Wilson building in June. Henderson was previously the deputy chancellor, and has served as executive director of Team for America-D.C.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Samantha Power, senior director for multilateral affairs and human rights at the National Security Council and foreign policy adviser to President Obama, emerges from the West Wing of the White House in Washington in October 2010. Power was the founding executive director at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, where she is the Anna Lindh Professor of Practice of Global Leadership and Public Policy. Her book, “A Problem from Hell,” won a Pulitzer Prize in 2003.

Charles Dharapak / AP

White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and White House social secretary Desiree Rogers chat during a press conference in the Rose Garden of the White House, where President Obama was meeting with President Lee Myung-bak in June 2009. Jarrett was previously the chairman of the Chicago Transit Board, the commissioner of planning and development for the city of Chicago, and deputy chief of staff for Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

President Obama's director of the White House Office for Health Reform, Nancy-Ann DeParle, moderates a follow-up meeting on health reform with health-care professionals. As Obama’s health czar, DeParle was the administration’s "point guard" in overhauling the American health-care system.

Bill O’Leary / The Washington Post

Mary Schapiro, the first female chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, speaks at an SEC meeting in Washington in October 2009.

Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg

U.S. Republican presidential candidate and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann arrives to speak at the annual Republican Party of Iowa Ronald Reagan Dinner in Des Moines on Nov. 4. Bachmann became the first Republican woman to be elected in Minnesota to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006.

Jim Young / Reuters

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) applauds as then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) speaks at a rally in Coral Gables, Fla. Rep. Wasserman Schultz is the first Jewish congresswoman elected from Florida, and is currently chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Lynne Sladky / AP

IMF chief Christine Lagarde talks during a press conference on Nov. 4 on the last day of the G-20 Summit of Heads of State and Government in Cannes, France. Lagarde is the first woman to ever head the IMF.

Sebastian Nogier / AFP/Getty Images

Chairman and chief executive of BET Networks Debra L. Lee speaks during the BET panel at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Pasadena, Calif., in July 2009.

Matt Sayles / AP

Gail J. McGovern, president and chief executive of the American Red Cross, is pictured in her Washington office.

Sarah L. Voisin / The Washington Post

Elizabeth Broun is the director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery.

Bachrach Photography

Featured Photo Galleries

One Direction

The British-Irish boy band One Direction performs at the Patriot Center in Fairfax as part of their Up All Night Tour.

Paula and Clay Gustin become emotional as dozens of balloons float above during a memorial Wednesday, May 23, 2012, for their five-year-old son, Rhett, who died in an accident on May 20. (AP Photo/The Coeur D?Alene Press, Shawn Gust) MANDATORY CREDIT

Fleet Week, solar impulse plane, artificial heart, Air Force academy graduation and more in the day in photos

Fleet Week, solar impulse plane, artificial heart, Air Force academy graduation and more.

Red Panda Bears sleep in the Panda Bear enclosure at the Beijing Zoo on May 22, 2012. The zoo grounds were originally a Ming Dynasty imperial palace and finally opened to the public in 1908. The zoo's history states that during the WWII, most of the zoo's animals died of starvation with only 13 monkeys and one old emu surviving the war. AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTONMARK RALSTON/AFP/GettyImages

Barn owls, pit bulls, red pandas, cheetah cubs and more in animal views

Barn owls, pit bulls, red pandas, cheetah cubs and more.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 24: Actress Macy Gray attend the 'The Paperboy' photocall during the 65th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 24, 2012 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Eye on entertainment

Macy Gray, Zac Efron, Philip Phillips, Fantasia Barrino, Neil Diamond and other celebrities.

‘Dancing with the Stars’

Season 14 of “Dancing With the Stars.”

May 21, 2012: Members of the Naval Academy freshman class (plebes) lock arms and form a human ladder while climbing the Herndon Monument at the United States Naval Academy on May 21, 2012 in Annapolis, Md. Each year members of the Naval Academy's freshman class (plebes) climb the lard covered 21-foot tall Herndon Monument to replace a plebe dixie cup hat with a midshipman's hat at the top of the obelisk.

Teamwork, discipline help plebes get to the top

At the U.S. Naval Academy, the freshman class attempts to climb the Herndon Monument.

The National Zoo has two new additions: the female cheetah cub, left, and her brother on the right.

The National Zoo’s new cheetah cubs

A dramatic rescue saved these two cheetah babies and their distressed mother giving birth.

JOPLIN, MO - MAY 19: Grace Goebel plays outside of the new Habitat for Humanity home of her parents that was built on the spot of a home that had been destroyed after a tornado hit the neighborhood almost one year ago on May 19, 2012 in Joplin, Missouri. Tuesday will mark the one-year anniversary of the EF-5 tornado that devastated the town. The tornado left behind a path of destruction along with 161 deaths and hundreds of injuries, but one year later there are signs that the town is beginning to recover. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Joplin, Missouri, one year after tornadoes devastate town

Reminders of destruction are everywhere in Joplin, Mo., a year after a killer tornado.

Back to Previous Gallery

Discussion Policy | FAQ | About Discussions

Comments

Add your comment

Read what others are saying About Badges

SuperFan Badge

SuperFan badge holders consistently post smart, timely comments about Washington area sports and teams.

More about badges | Request a badge

Culture Connoisseur Badge

Culture Connoisseurs consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on the arts, lifestyle and entertainment.

More about badges | Request a badge

Fact Checker Badge

Fact Checkers contribute questions, information and facts to The Fact Checker.

More about badges | Request a badge

Washingtologist Badge

Washingtologists consistently post thought-provoking, timely comments on events, communities, and trends in the Washington area.

More about badges | Request a badge

Post Writer Badge

This commenter is a Washington Post editor, reporter or producer.

Post Forum Badge

Post Forum members consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on politics, national and international affairs.

More about badges | Request a badge

Weather Watcher Badge

Weather Watchers consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on climates and forecasts.

More about badges | Request a badge

World Watcher Badge

World Watchers consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on international affairs.

More about badges | Request a badge

Post Contributor Badge

This commenter is a Washington Post contributor. Post contributors aren’t staff, but may write articles or columns. In some cases, contributors are sources or experts quoted in a story.

More about badges | Request a badge

Post Recommended

Washington Post reporters or editors recommend this comment or reader post.

You must be logged in to report a comment.

Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers.

All comments are posted in the All Comments tab.

More about badges

Get a badge

To pause and restart automatic updates, click "Live" or "Paused". If paused, you'll be notified of the number of additional comments that have come in.