Trump’s circle favors men 2-to-1
Proportion of women lower than 5 of last 6 presidencies
Men outnumber women more than 2-to-1 among top aides to President Trump, according to the White House and an analysis by USA TODAY.
If that ratio holds as the president finishes filling out his staff, the percentage of women in the West Wing would be smaller than at least five of the last six presidential terms, the analysis shows.
The percentage of women in top White House jobs in previous administrations has ranged from 28% under George W. Bush in 2008 to 52% under Bill Clinton in 2000, the analysis of staff listings dating back to 1996 found.
The Trump administration is just over 4 weeks old, but his transition and White House have announced the appointments of more than 70 top staffers. USA TODAY’s analysis of White House news releases about staff hires shows that 23% are women.
The actual percentage of women among top aides is 31%, the White House says. But officials would not release the names or titles of the hires or comment on the record about what makes up that figure.
Most of the top roles are filled by men, including Trump’s chief strategist and senior advisers for policy and homeland security, as well as the heads of the Domestic Policy, National Economic and National Trade councils. The director of legislative affairs and White House counsel also are men.
The highest-ranking women
include Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president; Dina Habib Powell, senior counselor for economic initiatives; and K.T. McFarland, deputy national security adviser.
The White House maintained in a statement provided to USA TODAY that overall, when other White House staff is taken into account, the ratio of men to women is “nearly the same.”
The White House employs hundreds of people in offices usually organized differently by each president, including offices for scheduling and planning, public engagement and correspondence. USA TODAY analyzed only the subset of top aides closest to the president.
“President Trump has made empowering women in the workplace a priority for decades,” the White House said. “He has always been at the forefront of hiring and promoting women for top positions, both at his company and most recently on his campaign and now in his administration. As president, he is working to lessen or remove some of the unique barriers that prevent women from fully participating in the workforce, while also creating new opportunities for success for all Americans.”
Experts say Democrats have historically appointed more women and minorities than Republicans, and so Trump may not reach the diversity levels of Clinton or Obama, whose top staff was 44% women by the end of his tenure.
Nevertheless, Meghna Sabharwal, a professor of public and non-profit management at the University of Texas at Dallas who has researched presidential appointments, says it’s important to grow those numbers and have a representative bureaucracy.
“We are very diverse, and the diversity numbers keep going up in the U.S. So do the expectations that our bureaucrats will look like us, or will mirror the demograph- ic makeup of the society so they can reflect those values,” she says.
Trump appointed a woman, Conway, as his campaign manager. His daughter Ivanka has indicated she will play a role in elevating women’s issues, although she is not a White House employee. She has attended events with her father, including a high-profile roundtable at the White House last week focused on women in business.
Other women among Trump’s hires are Omarosa Manigault, a former Apprentice contestant who is now director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison; Katie Walsh, deputy chief of staff; and Hope Hicks, strategic communications director.
USA TODAY analyzed lists of staff members in the “White House Office” — the aides closest to the president — published every four years in the U.S. Government Policy and Supporting Positions plum book. The books are compiled at the end of each president’s term, so Trump’s will not be published until 2020.
Clinton employed the most women — 51 of 98 aides listed in 2000 — and they held high-ranking positions, including White House counsel Beth Nolan and deputy chief of staff Maria Echaveste. Obama hired the second most with 42 women among 95 aides listed at the end of his term, including national security adviser Susan Rice and homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco.