The president's cabinet includes six women out of 24 positions and is on course to have a smaller percentage of women and nonwhites than the first cabinets of Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George Bush.

“Since the very beginning, women have driven, and I mean, each generation of Americans, towards a more free and more prosperous future,” Mr Trump said.

Listing such influential women as Abigail Adams and Harriet Tubman, he said: "We’ve had leaders like Susan B. Anthony. Have you heard of Susan B. Anthony? I’m shocked that you’ve heard of her - who dreamed of a much more fair and equal future and an America where women themselves as she said helped to make laws and elect the lawmakers, and that’s what’s happening more and more."

His comment that he was shocked that a room full of women had heard of the 19th Century pioneer who paved the way for women’s suffrage was mocked by social media users, including Chelsea Clinton.