Few national monuments honor women. Biden will create this new one.

The monument will honor Frances Perkins, the first female Cabinet secretary, who helped to establish Social Security and the federal minimum wage.



The Perkins Homestead in Newcastle, Maine, on Jan. 28, 2021. (Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald/Getty Images)

By Maxine Joselow
Updated August 8, 2024 at 8:57 a.m. EDT | Published August 8, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. EDT

President Joe Biden plans to create a national monument in Maine honoring Frances Perkins, the first female Cabinet secretary and a fierce advocate for workers’ rights, according to three people briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the decision is not yet public.

Biden is expected to sign a proclamation designating Perkins’s family home in Newcastle, Maine, as part of the National Park System, aiming to recognize the legacy of a trailblazing woman while bolstering his own legacy before he leaves office in January, the three people said. The timing of the announcement has not yet been finalized, although it could happen in the coming weeks, they said. ... A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Perkins served as labor secretary under President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 to 1945, leaving a lasting mark on the nation’s labor laws. She was instrumental in the creation of New Deal-era programs that expanded the social safety net, including Social Security, federal unemployment insurance and the federal minimum wage.

Of 429 national park sites across the country, only 12 are devoted to historic women. Biden has sought to address this imbalance, signing an executive order in March that directed the National Park Service to better recognize women’s contributions to American life.

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By Maxine Joselow
Maxine Joselow is a staff writer who covers climate change and the environment. Twitter https://twitter.com/maxinejoselow