-        1902-1909: Working with the poor and unemployed at the Chicago Commons and Hull House, two early pillars of social work and social service
          (Encyclopaedia Britannica Editors, 2021)

-        1909-1910: Investigating childhood malnutrition in New York City as part of a fellowship with the New York School of Philanthropy (Sprague, 2020)

-        1911: Witnessed the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in which unsafe working conditions led to the death of 146 garment workers, primarily women, and girls                   (Semuels, 2020) 

-        1910-1912: Advocated for the rights of workers as the executive secretary of the New York Consumers League (Sprague, 2020)

-        1912-1917: Served on New York City’s Committee on Safety (Sprague, 2020)
          * Helped to develop safety mandates for the workplace, advocated to cap the maximum hours one could work, and supported the creation of a minimum wage

-        1917-1919: New York Council of Organizations for War Service 

-        1919-1923: First woman to serve on the New York State Industrial Commission (Encyclopaedia Britannica Editors, 2021)

-        1923-1929: Served on the New York State Industrial Board (Encyclopaedia Britannica Editors, 2021)

         * 1926: Named chairman

-        1929: Appointed as State Industrial Commissioner by then governor, Franklin D. Roosevelt (Encyclopaedia Britannica Editors, 2021)

         * Work to implement unemployment insurance, end child labor, and improve factory safety set an example for the entire nation (Sprague, 2020)

-        1930: Used her expertise in labor statistics to speak out against President Hoover’s false assertion that unemployment was improving (Sprague, 2020)

         *  First woman in the United States to be appointed to a cabinet positions

-        1933: Worked with social worker Harry Hopkins to present a program for emergency relief which became the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (Sprague, 2020)

-        1933: Developed the Civilian Conservation Corps (Sprague, 2020)

-        1934-1935: Worked with the Committee of Economic Security to develop what became Social Security (Barusch, 2018, p. 152) 

-        1938: Supervised the Fair Labor Standards Act (National Park Service, n.d.)

-        Set goals to enact a minimum wage, unemployment compensation, worker’s compensation, a 40-hour workweek, abolition of child labor, unemployment relief, social security, and universal health insurance

         *While in office, Perkins accomplished all of these goals except universal health care (Kurtz, 2020) 

-        The standard of a 40-hour workweek (Kurtz, 2020)

-        Minimum wage (Kurtz, 2020)

-        The end of child labor (Kurtz, 2020)

-        The unemployment benefit system (Kurtz, 2020)

-        Social work shaped Perkins’ political contributions and provided crucial influence as she developed what is, arguably, one of the most important pieces of legislature in U.S. history (Sprague, 2020)

-        Did not take her husband’s name after their marriage; a right that she had to fight for in court (Sprague, 2020)

         *Did not live with her husband for most of their marriage

-        Lived with several women including Mary Rumsey (founder of the Junior League) and Representative Carolyn O’Day and is considered to be the first known homosexual to hold federal office
(Sprague, 2020)

Encyclopaedia Britannica Editors. (2021, January 14). Frances Perkins: United States secretary of labor. Retrieved from Britannica.com: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frances-Perkins

History.com Editors. (2018, August 21). Frances Perkins. Retrieved from History.com: https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/frances-perkins

Kurtz, A. (2020, April 10). She came to the rescue during the Great Depression. Now her work is still aiding jobless Americans. Retrieved from CNN Business: https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/10/business/unemployment-benefits-frances-perkins/index.html

National Park Service. (n.d.). Frances Perkins. Retrieved from National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/people/frances-perkins.htm

Semuels, A. (2020, March 5). 1933: Frances Perkins. Time: 100 Women of the Year. Retrieved February 18, 2021, from https://time.com/5792783/frances-perkins-100-women-of-the-year/

Sprague, L. (2020). Her Life: The Woman Behind the New Deal. Retrieved from Frances Perkins Center: http://francesperkinscenter.org/life-new/