At the beginning of December, President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris announced an all-female senior White House communications team in what his office called the first in the United States history. The Biden-Harris team stated that bringing on these experienced and qualified women would, “bring a diverse perspective to their work, and would share a commitment to building this country back better,” Biden said in a statement.
Joining the Biden-Harris team included:
Elizabeth Alexander was named Communications Director for incoming First Lady Jill Biden.
Kate Bedingfield was named White House Communications Director.
Ashley Etienne as Communications Director for Harris, and Symone Sanders as Harris’s Senior Adviser and Chief Spokesperson.
Pili Tobar was named deputy White House communications director and Karine Jean-Pierre will be principal deputy press secretary.
Jen Psaki has been named White House Press Secretary. Psaki has held a number of senior positions, including White House communications director for former President Barack Obama’s administration.
Biden has also named the first female head of intelligence as Avril Haines.
Additionally, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris added three women to her roster of top aides, marking the first time in history that the top three positions in the U.S. Cice President’s office will be held by women.
Hartina Flournoy as Chief of Staff to the Vice President.
Rohini Kosoglu was named Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President.
Nancy McEldowney as National Security Advisor to the Vice President.
Due to the different experiences of gender, women offer differing perspectives and priorities from men. Issues such as health care, pay equality, and education, are typically more women-focused issues as it also directly affects their families, immigrants and minorities as well. The benefits of these different priorities are visible in the legislative branch through the Biden-Harris administration.
There have always been women in the White House holding numerous roles in all recent administrations. However, they have always been far outnumbered and outranked by men. As every woman knows, it is hard to make yourself heard when you are one of the few women in the room. But for the first time in history, women from every background and walk of life will have the chance to weigh in on every important White House decision. They will be representing the administration to the world.
