by Saiqa Anne Qureshi, Staff Writer, FWSF MarCom Committee
Photo from Seattle Municipal Archives
As we welcome Women’s History Month it is important to consider the history of women in the United States regarding financial opportunities. Financial Women of San Francisco was created to advance women in finance and financial services.
Only in the 1960’s did women explicitly gain the right to hold a bank account, and in 1963 under the Equal Pay Act, was there a mandate for equal pay, regardless of gender, for equal jobs. In 1974 the Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibited credit discrimination based on sex or marital status. That new law effectively allowed women to take out credit, including car loans, a credit card, or any other loan in their own name, without a cosigner who was male, and for married women to do so in their name, and not in the name of their husband or with his permission.
It was at this time that the first women-run and women-focused banks and credit unions were set up, to cater to this new community of participants, providing financial literacy to women throughout the country. However, according to a 2023 survey 63% of women wish they knew more about financial planning and investing, and while women are interested in understanding financial concepts on a deeper level, over half of those women do not know where to seek out that information.
There are still hurdles to face in terms of women’s access to finance, credit, investment opportunities and earning potential. Women make up 52% of the workforce, but just 21% of C-Suite positions in American financial institutions as of 2021. There is still a gender pay gap that means that women earn, on average 82% of what a man does over their lifetime, further compounded by lower earnings for women of color.
The wealth gap is even more pronounced, as women own 32 cents on the dollar to the wealth owned by men, a gap created by not just by lower earnings but also higher likelihood of career interruptions for caregiving including childcare and elder family support. The “pink tax” which refers to higher prices for products and services targeted at women, including even medical services, means higher additional costs compounded by lower lifetime earnings.
So much progress has been made and there is so much to do. As a member of Financial Women of San Francisco, you are supporting the advancement of women in finance and financial services and supporting the next generation of women through access programs and scholarship support. Thank you for all that you do!
From Connections Newsletter (Food for Thought): March 2025
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Resources
https://www.bankrate.com/banking/history-of-women-in-banking-personal-finance/#stats
https://www.unitedway-york.org/news/womens-history-month-shining-light-womens-financial-inequities
https://blog.elevationscu.com/womens-history-month-2024/
https://www.soundcu.com/blog/six-dates-in-history-that-changed-womens financial-futures/