Bankers in the Boudoir

In the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Frodo becomes invisible when he puts the Ring on his finger. Well, at banks in the 1970s, this is basically what happened when a woman put a wedding ring on her finger. Her credit cards would no longer work, and the banks wouldn't count her income as part of the household income. This led to a fight for women's financial independence that gave rise to the landmark Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and the creation of the first women's banks.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of ECOA becoming law, we’re looking back at a time when women had to have their husband or father cosign on a credit application. What did it take to pass this landmark legislation? And how did it improve women's lives in America?

Transcript

Guests:

• Rachel Seidman, PhD, curator at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum; curatorial consultant to the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum 
• Emily Card, PhD, author of Staying Solvent: A Comprehensive Guide to Equal Credit for Women
• Elizabeth Babcock, PhD, director of the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum
• Jeanne Hubbard, former CEO of The Adams National Bank

Smithsonian links:

• In the 1978 episode of All in the Family one of the main characters, Edith Bunker, tries to get a loan so she can buy her husband, Archie, a new TV. The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History shares that Jean Stapleton, who played Edith Bunker, was an outspoken advocate for women's rights.