Story and Profiles Written By Mary Beth Roach
It wasn’t until the Equal Credit Opportunity Act passed in 1974 that women in the U.S. could open a bank account on their own.
According to forbes.com, women won the right to open a bank account in the 1960s, but many banks still refused to let women do so without a signature from their husbands — and unmarried women were often refused service by financial institutions.
Fifty years later, many women have reached the upper management levels in the financial world.
However, while women may have made significant progress, there is still some disparity between the genders when it comes to those in leadership roles.
For example, in the fall of 2023, the Credit Union National Association noted that a majority (51%) of credit union CEOs are women, nearly 14 times the rate observed at publicly traded banks (3.7%).
We talked with more than a dozen women in Oswego and Onondaga counties who hold leadership positions in banks or credit unions about their careers, the changes in banking, the progress they believe women have made in this field, and their views on the future.
Many have been in banking for years, having weathered various mergers and acquisitions.
Others have held finance-related jobs in other companies and have moved over to the banks.
While they credit bosses, mentors, co-workers and family members for support, these women have put in the work and have taken or created their opportunities for advancement.
