by Linda Harris Sittig
It may be hard for younger American women to truly appreciate the Herculean task that Carol Green undertook in the mid-1970s.
But I do.
I clearly remember, as a newlywed in 1973, applying for my first credit card. It was from Sears, Roebuck. I filled out the application, mailed it off, and waited for the card. When it came, it was written under the name of Mrs. Sittig, only my married name, my identity with my husband, not my full name. I remember the feeling of disappointment. But I was a newly married woman, and apparently, my husband’s name carried more credence than mine alone. I shrugged off the feeling and used the card.
Then, in 1975, with a B.A. in History and an M.Ed. in Education under my belt, I decided to enter a Ph.D. program at a university in Washington, D.C. I filled out the application and then came to the last page. For a married woman, this university required the husband’s signature as a form of permission. This time, I wasn’t disappointed; I was furious. I switched my intentions elsewhere.
By the 1980s, when I decided I wanted my own checking account, in addition to our combined account, I should have written a thank-you note to Carol Green. Before her groundbreaking fight, married American women could not open an independent bank account or apply for a bank loan without the co-signature of a male family member. Under the old coverture laws, when a woman married, her property now belonged to her husband. Property, including money.
In the mid-1970s, Carol Green was already the CEO of a highly successful local franchise business. Weight Watchers. You may have heard of it 😊, but she could not get a loan from any bank in Colorado without her husband co-signing, despite the passage of the 1974 Equal Credit Opportunity Act. She did not cave to disappointment; instead, she sought support from other business-minded women she knew in Denver, and together they opened the first women’s bank in Colorado.
In 1976, this group of ten women had put up $1,000 each and applied for permission to open The Women’s Bank. The individuals were: Wendy W. Davis, Loretta Norgren, Leslie Friedman Davis, Betty Sue Freedman, Beverly A. (Martinez) Grall, Barbara Grall, Barbara Welch Sudler, Edna Mosley, Judith Foster, and Carol Green. Each woman was valued for her individual expertise, and together they were a formidable force.
Of course, they ran into challenges; they had traversed a four-year gauntlet of paperwork before securing a national bank charter. And it was a gamble – would the Denver female population support them in their novel endeavor? When the bank opened on the morning of July 14, 1978, the group must have held its breath. But, within the early morning hours, a line of women stretched down the street, waiting for the doors to open. Some women came with a substantial deposit; others came with folded dollar bills taken out of their kitchen coffee cans. But they came, and when the bank closed after that first day, the deposits totaled $1 million. A lot of money in 1978 – the equivalent of $4.97 million today. Not bad.
The impact of The Women’s Bank in Denver was built on earlier attempts in other states to secure a bank where women could participate in their own finances, such as The First Woman’s Bank in Clarksville, Tennessee, which opened to women in 1919. But it was absorbed by a larger bank in 1926. And think of Maggie Lena Walker, the first African American self-made millionaire who started the St. Luke’s Penny Saving Bank in 1903.
The Women’s Bank in Denver, though, was one of the first commercial banks that was successfully owned and run by a group of women. The gift of Carol Green and the other women who tirelessly championed women’s financial opportunities is that they were fighting for women’s financial independence and economic equality. They knew they were attempting to smash a glass ceiling.
While we may be able to secure a loan, open a bank account, and manage our own finances today, American women still earn only 83 cents for every dollar men earn.
I recently found a letter my mother wrote to me shortly after my wedding. In it, she tells me to get my own checking account, separate from my husband, so I can control some of my own money. The date is August 1973. I smile, thinking how much my mother would have loved to have met Carol Green.
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Wishing everyone a healthy, happy, and prosperous new year.
linda:)
Author of Cut from Strong Cloth, Last Curtain Call, Counting Crows, B-52 DOWN, and Opening Closed Doors. And soon…Chasing the Tides.
Thank you for saving and sharing this important information, Linda. Does the bank still exist? Do we still have women’s banks? Back in the early 1970s (1972/3), the Bank of Montreal had a women’s branch. Not exactly what you’re talking about here, it was in a separate building on Sherbrooke Street (I think) with elegant furniture so women could do their banking business without dealing with men. At the same time, drinking establishments also included “men’s only” ones. To figure out if a woman were welcome, the clue was often in the names – taverns were for men while women and men could go to the brasseries.
They were eventually bought out by a bigger bank. And I have heard of some women’s banks, but none near me. I didn’t even know there were ‘women’s rooms’ at banks back in the day:) Thanks, Diane, always appreciate your insights:)
lind:)
Hello Linda and advocates of Strong Women in History,
In 1976, I worked as a teller at State National Bank of Maryland while in graduate school. Realizing that local women entrepreneurs were aware of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, State National designated their Bethesda branch as a site where all staff learned that “Women Mean Business.” The branch manager, secretarial staff and tellers helped women feel comfortable in the branch and provided access to information about personal and business credit decisions.
Although State National bank merged with another bank during the era of bank acquisition which swept America from the 1980s-1990s but business women of today have benefitted from early programs that granted access to credit and are able to conduct business on a more level playing field.
Wow, I never knew any of that about you. And kudos to the Bethesda branch, for at least recognizing that women deserved access to personal business decisions!
linda:)
This is a great reminder that it wasn’t long ago that women were still being thwarted from advancing our own independence. Thank you for this interesting story. I would love to bank at a women’s bank today.
Me, too, Denise! Since moving to N.C. we now have a female lawyer, and mostly female doctors. It does make a difference:)
linda:)
You never fail…. Another great story!
Thank you!
Thanks, Bobbie. This one really fascinated me, too.
linda:)
Linda, this is still an amazing story to me as I, too, faced reality when looking for a car after some money was gifted from my father ~ in the 1970s. I was overlooked and asked where my husband was which prompted a quick and angry retreat from the dealership. I also remember being frustratingly horrified when a dear friend reported that EVERYTHING in her long married partnership was in her husband’s name only. She feared for her own future.
Thank as always for your timely and wise essays and let’s hope we can reverse our country’s current trend of reversing women’s rights! Happy New Year!
I agree, Kathy. We, as American women, have fought so hard for equality. I’d love to see it in my lifetime, but pray it happens at least in my granddaughters’ lifetimes.
Thank you! We are so fortunate and take it for granted now. I forwarded this to my nieces and daughter-in-law as they likely have no idea.
Thanks, Natalie, for sending this on. Yes, it is hard for even my daughters to recognize all the gains that have been made. When they were young, and looking through my high school yearbook, they asked why there were no photos of the girls’ sports teams:) Then floored when I explained that in 1965, only the boys had sports teams.
linda:)
Great story Linda. Thanks to the woman who pushed through. Appalling — and pretty recent history. While we still don’t have an equal rights amendment passed, a lot has improved. We need to work to hold onto what we have as some want us just to be baby makers and caretakers and control our lives and bodies.
Glad you enjoyed it. I loved how she was the owner of a successful Weight Watchers franchise and still could not get a loan without her husband’s signature. Geesh!
linda:)