She is no longer a household name, but during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration Frances Perkins was one of America’s most influential women. As the first female secretary of labor she was responsible for implementing programs that reshaped society and business and established the social safety net we enjoy today.

Biographer Kirstin Downey examines Perkins’ life and enduring impact in a discussion of her book The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins – Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, and the Minimum Wage.

A former reporter for The Washington Post, Downey was the lead writer of The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report about the 2008 economic meltdown.

This event is co-sponsored by Wall of Women’s Achievement, Greater Kansas City Women’s Political Caucus, League of Women Voters, KCJCP, Operation Breakthrough, American Association of University Women, Loretto-Kansas City, KKFI 90.1 FM Community Radio, Greater Kansas City Building Trades Council, Zonta Club of KC II, MO, St.Paul's Episcopal Church, MainStream Coalition, and ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri.