Women And The Bank

1974 was the day of the credit score

In New Zealand, women were not allowed to have their own credit cards until 1974.

That is exactly 50 years ago.

My own mother grew up in a world where women did not have equal financial rights, my grandmother grew up in a world where women did not have equal financial rights. I was the first female in my family to be born into a world where women have equal financial rights — mostly.

That pay gap is still a thing.

Co-signing to open a bank account had to be done with a man. Co-signing on a house had to be with a man.

Everything had to be done through a man, and women were not allowed to have their own bank accounts until the 1960s.

The 1960s!

Women were allowed to work well before then — and where did all that money go?

Into the husband's bank account.

I think back on all the movies and TV shows I watched as a kid where the women were perceived as vain, selfish and shopaholics.

But honestly…

If I was allowed to work and not allowed to open my own bank account or have any control over any ounce of the cents I made, I would also take my husband's credit card and spend big.

I would buy myself everything I needed and wanted — I’d purchase a massage chair, a house with a pool, I would allow myself to get whatever I wanted as that’s exactly what the men seemed to be getting.

The only real financial control a woman had was through purchasing.

Stereotypically, a woman shops because she is vain and thick in the head. In reality, a woman shops because this gives her autonomy and a sense of control.

Imagine being stuck inside a house all day — or one of the very few jobs a woman was allowed to do — and then your man came home and thanked you for cleaning the house, cooking his dinner, and making his money.

Thank goodness we live in a time where women have full control over their finances; financial situation; and full autonomy from men.

As a woman who was born in the late 90’s I have been able to open my own bank account, have my own bank cards, have my money go into my bank account, pay my own rent, my own groceries, and create my own budgets. I can pick up side hustles, change jobs and join a union. This is all pretty new in the world of the earth.

I still remember as a child, trying to come up with a pen name that sounded like a man as I believed books written by woman wouldn’t sell. For no other reason than it was written by a woman.

Look at how far we’ve come.