Obama Cabinet: 7 People Who Could Have Been on It

Jan. 18, 2013— -- intro: President Barack Obama's Cabinet of advisers is shaping up to be mostly white men. With Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar set to depart, no Latinos remain, and there are only a few women.

Certainly the men and women currently holding Cabinet positions or nominated to succeed outgoing members are qualified. And increasing diversity at the expense of quality isn't a smart move either. But it's also clear that there are more women, especially minority women, qualified for the jobs.

Here are a handful of people who could have been considered for certain positions.

quicklist: 1title: Labor Secretary - Linda Chavez-Thompsontext: Chavez-Thompson worked as an agricultural laborer before becoming both the first woman and first Latino to serve as executive vice president of the powerful AFL-CIO labor union in the mid-1990s. She also ran for lieutenant governor of Texas in the 2010 election, and she is a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Chavez-Thompson has also pushed for immigration reform and fought for minimum wage increases for workers. As someone who has both experienced life as a day laborer and worked with lawmakers on labor and union issues, she is uniquely situated to understand how labor policies impact workers.

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quicklist: 2title: Housing and Urban Development Secretary - Ana Marie Argilagostext: Argilagos is the current deputy chief of staff for operations, programs and partnerships for the department, meaning she works closely with the current secretary's office and is familiar with his day-to-day responsibilities.

A leader in the Latino community – she previously worked at the Latino advocacy group National Council of La Raza – Argilagos has placed special emphasis on helping disadvantaged, minority communities.

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quicklist: 3title: Treasury Secretary - Maria Contreras-Sweet text: Contreras-Sweet is the executive chairwoman and founder of Promérica Bank, and she has worked specifically to help Latino business owners.

She also has experience in the public sector. Contreras-Sweet served as the cabinet secretary of business, transportation and housing under California Governor Gray Davis, where she oversaw a multi-billion dollar budget and thousands of people. She has also worked with the Commerce Department, serving as chairwoman of the 2000 Census count in California.

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quicklist: 4title: Commerce Secretary - Maria Echavestetext: Echaveste served as an advisor to former President Bill Clinton and as his deputy chief of staff. During her time at the White House, Echaveste championed fair labor laws and overtime pay.

Currently a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress, Echaveste worked in corporate litigation before entering public service. She managed Clinton's domestic policy initiatives, handling everything from education and bankruptcy to immigration and disaster relief. She founded the Nueva Vista group after leaving the White House, which works with businesses and organizations on a variety of issues, including labor and finances.

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quicklist: 5title: Defense Secretary - Michele Flournoy text: Flournoy is the former undersecretary of defense for policy. While she's never served in the military, she has worked in the national security arena for years, including on counterinsurgency strategies for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

She has been instrumental in recruiting more women to work in the male-dominated Pentagon. She also founded her own think tank, the Center for a New American Security, which urges troops to work with local people in war zones.

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quicklist: 6title: Attorney General – Kamala Harris text: Harris is the first female, African-American and Indian-American attorney general in California. The former San Francisco district attorney has been an advocate of reducing recidivism rates by limiting the appeal and accessibility of criminal activity.

She has focused her efforts on ensuring that banks treat homeowners fairly, and she created a hate crimes unit during her time in San Francisco aimed at reducing crimes against gay and lesbian students.

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quicklist: 7title: Education Secretary - Michelle Rhee text: Michelle Rhee served as controversial chancellor of the Washington, D.C. public schools from 2007 to 2010, where she fought to tie teacher tenure to student achievement. She closed a number of under-enrolled schools and trimmed office jobs. She also advocated early childhood education programs and programs for gifted children.

After leaving her role as chancellor, Rhee founded StudentsFirst, a nonprofit organization focused on education reform.

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