Barbara Franklin

In 1971, while at the First National City Bank, Franklin was recruited by President Richard Nixon to bring more qualified women into high-level, policy-making government positions. Her appointment was part of a multi-pronged initiative by the Nixon administration following a press conference on February 6, 1969. During this press conference, Vera Glaser, a reporter for the North American Newspaper Alliance, asked President Nixon,

Mr. President, in staffing your administration, you have so far made about 200 high-level Cabinet and other policy position appointments, and of these only three have gone to women. Can you tell us, sir, whether we can expect a more equitable recognition of women's abilities, or are we going to remain a lost sex?[5]

In February 1971, Nixon gave Fred Malek, head of Presidential Personnel and a former classmate of Franklin's at Harvard Business School, the task of hiring a woman who would spearhead the effort to recruit other women for policy-making government jobs. Malek asked Franklin to be this recruiter, and on April 12, 1971, Franklin began her position for this presidential initiative. An official press release from the White House announced Franklin on April 22, 1971, as a "Staff Assistant to the President for Executive Manpower" – a title that was later changed simply to "Staff Assistant to the President" after her first press conference, wherein the press questioned how she could recruit women with the word manpower in her title.[5]

On April 21, 1971, Nixon issued a directive to the heads of White House departments and independent agencies to create specific action plans to "clearly demonstrate our recognition of the equality of women by making greater use of their skills in high level positions." He required these executive departments to:

1. Develop and put into action a plan for attracting more qualified women to top appointive positions by the end of the year;
2. Develop and put into action a plan for significantly increasing the number of women, career and appointive, in mid-level positions;
3. Ensure the substantial numbers of the vacancies on their Advisory Boards and Committees be filled with well-qualified women; and
4. Designate an overall coordinator who will be held responsible for the success of the project. On each of these requirements, Nixon required the heads to submit their plans no later than May 15, 1971.[6]

Following the release of this memorandum, Franklin was charged with monitoring the implementation progress on each departments' action plans.

By April 1972, along with the other presidential initiatives, Franklin's efforts led to the tripling of the number of women placed into policy-making positions, from 36 women to 105 women, in this first year alone. By May 1973, this number further increased to 130 women, and Franklin had created a talent bank of 1,000 qualified women for future openings. More than half of these policy-making positions to which women were appointed during this time were previously held only by men.[7] Among them were Cynthia Holcomb Hall, judge on the United States Tax Court; Marina von Neumann Whitman, the first woman on the president's Council of Economic Advisers; Romana Banuelos, the first Hispanic to be U.S. treasurer; Betty Southard Murphy, general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board; and Dixy Lee Ray, the first and only woman to chair the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.[5]

At the mid-level, more than 1,000 women were advanced into many positions that women had never held before, such as sky marshals, tug boat captains, FBI agents, and forest rangers.[7][8] The number of women appointed to boards and commissions increased as well, from over 250 in the first year, to 339 women by the end of May 1973. It was during this time that the first women became generals and admirals in the U.S. Armed Forces.[5][7]

On March 8, 2012, the book A Matter of Simple Justice: The Untold Story of Barbara Hackman Franklin and A Few Good Women was launched at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C., in a program covered by C-SPAN and moderated by Judy Woodruff of PBS NewsHour. The book is written by Lee Stout, Librarian Emeritus and former Head of Public Services and Outreach for Special Collections at the Penn State University Libraries. When he retired in 2007, Stout had served as Penn State's university archivist for 27 years.[9] In 1994, Franklin donated her governmental papers to the Penn State University Archives. Stout was cataloging Franklin's papers when he became interested in those which detailed her service to recruit women in the Nixon administration. He called Franklin and suggested an oral history project to preserve the memories of the men and women involved in this presidential initiative.[10]

In 1997, the "A Few Good Women" oral history project was created with an advisory board chaired by Franklin and with a cooperative relationship with the Penn State University Libraries. Initially, the Board had a list of twelve women appointees from the Nixon administration to be interviewed, including Margita White, Constance B. Newman, and Helen Delich Bentley, former Congresswoman and Chair of the Federal Maritime Commission. The list eventually expanded to include nearly 50 interviews, which are currently housed in the Special Collections Library at Penn State University.[11][12]

A Matter of Simple Justice: The Untold Story of Barbara Hackman Franklin and A Few Good Women is based on the "A Few Good Women" oral history project. In a two-part format, the book first focuses primarily on the historical narrative of the Nixon administration's efforts to bring women into high-level government positions, Franklin's specific efforts, and the results of this period. In the second part of the book, Stout highlights the personal stories of many of the other interviewees from this project, such as Ambassador Anne Armstrong, Senator Elizabeth Dole, Judge Cynthia Hall, and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Carla Hills. Interviewees talk about early influences, breaking down barriers, the impact on family, the role of networking, and the particular challenge of gaining entry to the legal profession.

The "A Few Good Women" project has received major funding from the Aetna Foundation, which has also provided grants for the "A Few Good Women" teaching aids project, designed by Penn State University Libraries staff. The teaching aids are designed to provide the oral histories, biographies, audio segments, images, and digitized historical documents of the "A Few Good Women" collection in the form of a curriculum for students in grades 6–12.[5][13]

Franklin's accomplishments as a staff assistant to President Nixon led to her nomination by Nixon as one of the first of five original commissioners of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). She was sworn in on May 14, 1973, for a term of seven years. She served under presidents Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter. On June 13, 1973, she was elected and served as the first Vice Chairman of the CPSC until 1974.[14] She served again as the Vice Chairman from 1977 to 1978. During these years, Franklin concentrated on improving safety for children and pioneering the use of cost/benefit analysis. Her letters to President Carter and her speeches led to that administration's creation of the United States Regulatory Council to coordinate the numerous agencies engaged in research or regulation of carcinogens, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).[15]

Prior to her appointment as Secretary of Commerce, Franklin held several part-time presidential appointment positions, including her membership of the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (1982–86; 89–91) by appointment of presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. She chaired the Task Force of Tax reform (1985–86) and was a member of the North American Free Trade Agreement (1991). She was appointed by President George H. W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as an Alternative Representative & Public Delegate, UN General Assembly, 44th Session (1989–90).[15]

Franklin being sworn in as the Secretary of Commerce.

On December 26, 1991, President George H.W. Bush announced his intention to nominate Franklin as the 29th Secretary of Commerce, replacing Robert Mosbacher.[16] This nomination was approved by the United States Senate and shortly thereafter she was sworn in on February 27, 1992, which made Franklin the highest-ranking woman in the George H.W. Bush administration and the 13th woman to serve in the US Cabinet.[4][17]

As Secretary of Commerce, she achieved a major goal: increasing American exports, most notably with China, Russia, Japan, and Mexico. She led a presidential mission to China in December 1992 for the purpose of normalizing commercial relations between the United States and China. In China, she and her counterpart, Minister Li Lanqing, reconvened the Seventh Session of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT). The JCCT had been moribund since the events at Tiananmen Square in June 1989, when the U.S. placed a sanction on China banning high-level government-to-government contact. Her mission lifted that sanction and brought back $1 billion in new contracts for American companies. This mission gave a "green light" to U.S. companies interested in business opportunities in China, and trade with China grew dramatically in the ensuing years as did U.S. investment in China.[15]

In a letter to the editor of the New York Times published on December 29, 1992, Franklin said:[18]

Several weeks ago President Bush asked me to lead a Presidential mission to China, following his decision to resume high-level economic talks with the Chinese. The driving rationale for the mission was to promote economic growth and jobs in the United States by insuring that American businesses have the support and opportunity to capitalize on the booming Chinese market, growing at 12 percent a year ... President Bush's policy of constructive engagement is a long-term investment in our economic future and is already delivering results in China and in the United States ... The interagency delegation I led to China and Hong Kong came back with almost $1 billion in business, and more important, we made it abundantly clear to the Chinese that they must address our concerns over the growing trade imbalance between China and the United States.

In January 1993, Franklin's appointment as Commerce Secretary ended with the inauguration of Bill Clinton to the presidency.

• 2015 (2015): Hall of Fame, Financial Executives International
• 2014 (2014): Directorship 100 Hall of Fame, Most Influential People & Organizations in Governance
• 2009 (2009): Directorship 100, Most Influential People & Organizations in Governance
• 2009 (2009): Top 25 Female Corporate Directors, BusinessWeek
• 2007 (2007): Directorship 100, Most Influential People & Organizations in Governance
• 2003 (2003): Outstanding Director, Class of 2003, Outstanding Directors' Exchange (ODX)
• 2000 (2000): Director of the Year, National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD)
• 1992 (1992): John J. McCloy Award for Contributions to Excellence in Auditing, Public Oversight Board, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
• 1990 (1990): 50 Most Influential Corporate Directors, American Management Association
• 1987 (1987): Directors' Choice Award, National Women's Economic Alliance
• 1981 (1981): Award for Corporate Leadership, Catalyst

• 2023 (2023): Government Hall of Fame, Government Executive
• 2022 (2022): First Pitch, Congressional Women's Softball Charity Game for the Young Survival Coalition
• 2020 (2020): Human Relations Award, The National Conference for Community and Justice
• 2017 (2017): 50 Women Who Made American Political History, Time magazine
• 2016 (2016): Lifetime Achievement Award in US-China Relations, The US-China Policy Foundation
• 2013 (2013): Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame
• 2013 (2013): World of Difference 100 Award, The International Alliance for Women
• 2009 (2009): Distinguished Alumni Award, Hempfield High School
• 2006 (2006): The Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service, The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
• 2005 (2005): Laureate, Junior Achievement of Southwest New England Business Hall of Fame
• 2004 (2004): Alumni Achievement Award, Mortar Board
• 2004 (2004): Alumni Achievement Award, Harvard Business School
• 2002 (2002): Prescott Bush Award, Connecticut Republicans
• 1996 (1996): Women Who Make A Difference, International Women's Forum
• 1992 (1992): Citation, Executive Women in Government
• 1988 (1988): Corporate Social Responsibility Award, City University of New York
• 1980 (1980): Award for Excellence in Management, Simmons College (MA)
• 1979 (1979): 6th Annual Recognition Award, American Association of Poison Control Centers
• 1978 (1978): Certificate of Appreciation, American Academy of Pediatrics
• 1977 (1977): Alumni Fellow, The Pennsylvania State University
• 1972 (1972): Distinguished Alumni Award, The Pennsylvania State University
• 1972 (1972): Mother Gerard Phelan Medal, Marymount University (VA)
• 1971 (1971): Distinguished Woman Award, Northwood Institute

Franklin is also included in numerous "Who's Who" publications.

• 2001 (2001): University of New Haven, West Haven, CT
• 1996 (1996): Briarwood College, Southington, CT
• 1994 (1994): University of Hartford, Hartford, CT
• 1990 (1990): Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
• 1973 (1973): Bryant College, Providence, RI

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