Women hold just 17.4% of Trump's cabinet-level posts, down from 52% under Biden: Report

US President Donald Trump's second administration has witnessed a significant decline in the number of women holding senior diplomatic and national security positions, while programmes supporting women overseas have also been dismantled, including initiatives promoted by Trump during his first term, according to a new report by Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Commissioned by Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the committee's top Democrat, the report describes what it calls a systematic reversal of policies previously supported by Trump. It warns that these changes could weaken American influence abroad and put women's lives at risk. "Supporting women and girls is not separate from advancing American interests, it is how we prevent conflict, strengthen our partners and compete," Shaheen said in a statement to CBS News. "This report documents the devastating consequences of the Administration's actions and

makes clear the impact on America's national security."

According to the report, women currently occupy just 17.4% of cabinet and cabinet-level positions in the Trump administration, compared with 52% during the Biden administration. At the Pentagon, only eight of the 201 candidates considered for senior military positions this year were women, accounting for around 4%. This is less than half the average proportion recorded over the previous decade. Currently, no women serve as active-duty four-star officers.

Women's representation has also declined across the senior diplomatic corps. Nearly half of the Senate-confirmed US ambassadors were women when Trump assumed office in 2025. However, fewer than 25 US diplomatic missions worldwide are now headed by female ambassadors, the analysis found. The figures use different measurements and come amid widespread vacancies. According to the American Foreign Service Association, 93 of the 196 ambassadorial positions remain unfilled.

The report also found that women account for just 35, or 17%, of the 206 Trump nominees for State Department positions so far. During the corresponding period of Trump's first administration, the figure stood at 26%. Under Biden, nearly half of the State Department nominees during the first two years of his administration were women, with 113 women among 245 nominees.

White House defends Trump's record

White House spokesperson Olivia Wales defended the administration in a statement, saying, “President Trump is a champion for women and moms across this country.” A White House official pointed to several domestic initiatives introduced by Trump, including his "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order, expansion of the child tax credit, the creation of the Trump Accounts child savings programme and the recent establishment of the White House Women's Health Task Force to help women access high-quality healthcare.

The official also highlighted women holding senior positions across the administration. These include Susie Wiles, the first female chief of staff in history, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, CDC Director Erica Schwartz, Surgeon General Nicole Saphier and FDA Commissioner Heidi Overton. State Department principal deputy spokeswoman Paloma Chacon also defended the administration's record, saying Trump had appointed women to senior diplomatic and departmental leadership positions. She said the department had ended what it considers discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion hiring practices and was prioritising merit in Foreign Service appointments.

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Trump's second-term policies reverse first-term initiatives

The report's findings contrast with Trump's first administration, when he and senior officials supported several initiatives aimed at promoting women's development and expanding economic opportunities. In 2019, Trump launched a global women's economic development initiative led by his daughter and then-senior adviser Ivanka Trump. The programme aimed to improve economic opportunities for 50 million women in developing countries by 2025.

However, during his second term, the administration has eliminated offices responsible for advancing these policies, cancelled aid and assistance programmes and scaled back the implementation of legislation previously signed by Trump. In 2017, Trump signed the bipartisan Women, Peace and Security Act, also known as the WPS Act. The legislation required the federal government to develop a strategy to increase women's participation in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and postwar recovery efforts.

Then-Senator Marco Rubio co-sponsored the legislation. In April 2025, as secretary of state, he praised the law during an address at the State Department's International Women of Courage Awards ceremony, saying he was ‘very proud’ to have supported it. However, the State Department did not organise the awards ceremony this year, marking the first interruption since it was established in 2007 by then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The WPS Act also required the Department of Defense to participate in its implementation. However, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on X in 2025 that he had ‘ENDED’ the programme within the Pentagon. He described the initiative as another woke divisive/social justice/Biden initiative that overburdens our commanders and troops. In a subsequent post, Hegseth alleged that the Biden administration had distorted & weaponized the initiative after its launch.

Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson, in a statement, referred to Hegseth's recent speech in Quantico, Virginia, where he said recruitment of Black and female personnel had increased. She said the military was more ready, lethal, and healthy than ever before, remaining colorblind, gender-neutral, and merit-based as you should be. "Implementing the Secretary's initiatives under President Trump's leadership has allowed women to thrive at the War Department, and the surge in recruitment is proof of that," Wilson said.

However, the statement did not address questions about the Women, Peace and Security strategy. Democrats said the administration had not yet used the $112 million approved by Congress for implementing the WPS strategy during fiscal year 2026.

USAID cuts affect programmes for women and girls

The report also highlighted the impact of the Trump administration's cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), saying women and girls were particularly affected. The cuts resulted in the termination of programmes covering maternal and child health, nutrition, basic education, family planning, prevention of early child marriage and gender-based violence.

According to the Democratic report, the administration terminated 86% of USAID awards involving maternal and child health. This could potentially disrupt healthcare services for as many as 16.8 million pregnant women annually. In Afghanistan alone, around 800 health clinics have closed following US funding cuts. The United Nations has projected that the closures could contribute to an additional 1,200 maternal deaths by 2028.