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Give Her Credit: The Untold Account of a Women's Bank That Empowered a Generation
The galvanizing true story of a group of remarkable women in the 1970s male-run world of business, banking, and finance. They didn’t play by the rules. They changed them and made history.
In the 1970s, a new wave of feminism was sweeping America. But in the boys’ club of banking and finance, women were still infantilized—no credit without a male cosigner, and their income was dismissed as unreliable. If bankers weren’t going to accommodate women, then women had to take control of their own futures. In 1978 in Denver, Colorado, the opening of the Women’s Bank changed everything.
It was helmed by bank officer B. LaRae Orullian and the brainchild of whip-smart entrepreneur Carol Green, who forged a groundbreaking path with their headstrong colleagues, among Judi Foster, investment research whiz; Edna Mosley, unyielding civil rights advocate with the NAACP; Mary Roebling, renowned financial executive; Betty Freedman, a socialite and fundraiser; and Gail Schoettler, a formidable Denver mover and shaker for social justice. Coming together and facing their own unique road to revolution, they built the most successful female-run bank in the nation. It wasn’t easy.
Give Her Credit follows the challenges, uphill battles, and achievements of some of the enterprising women of Denver who broke boundaries, inspired millions, and afforded opportunities for every marginalized citizen in the country. It’s about time their untold story was told.
In the 1970s, a new wave of feminism was sweeping America. But in the boys’ club of banking and finance, women were still infantilized—no credit without a male cosigner, and their income was dismissed as unreliable. If bankers weren’t going to accommodate women, then women had to take control of their own futures. In 1978 in Denver, Colorado, the opening of the Women’s Bank changed everything.
It was helmed by bank officer B. LaRae Orullian and the brainchild of whip-smart entrepreneur Carol Green, who forged a groundbreaking path with their headstrong colleagues, among Judi Foster, investment research whiz; Edna Mosley, unyielding civil rights advocate with the NAACP; Mary Roebling, renowned financial executive; Betty Freedman, a socialite and fundraiser; and Gail Schoettler, a formidable Denver mover and shaker for social justice. Coming together and facing their own unique road to revolution, they built the most successful female-run bank in the nation. It wasn’t easy.
Give Her Credit follows the challenges, uphill battles, and achievements of some of the enterprising women of Denver who broke boundaries, inspired millions, and afforded opportunities for every marginalized citizen in the country. It’s about time their untold story was told.
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First published January 1, 2025
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About the author
Grace L. Williams
4 books14 followersGrace L. Williams is a scholar of feminism and economics who moonlights as a financial reporter and podcast co-host. Whether it's shares of a company or this season's must have, Williams is passionate about what we’re buying, why we’re buying it, and how it contributes to many a bottom line. Throughout her near-decade of self-employment, she has tapped into the mindset of consumers and "followed the money" to dig deep into what they prioritize and care about as it plays out against an ever-changing market landscape. Williams is the author of Give Her Credit, a book that spotlights women's banks in the 1970s and is an alum of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where ironically she wrote a thesis on “Freeganism,” which is the magical art of surviving while buying nothing. Her writing has been featured in Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Harvard Business Review, Yahoo Finance, Stephens, Financial Advisor IQ, and RIA Intel, among many others.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 476 reviews
March 5, 2025
You need to give credit where credit is due. Grace Williams came up with a really good title for her book, Giver Her Credit (see what I did there?!). The story follows the creation of the Women's Bank of Denver in 1978. The bank came on the heels of a law change which finally allowed women to bank without their husbands. Hooray for progress!
Unfortunately, Williams runs into a few problems with her writing. First, she seems to put on the rosiest possible outlook on things she approves of. For instance, the beginning of the book talks about how progressive the west was in comparison to the east of the U.S. She lists many positive and selfless reasons why this would be. However, she skips one of the main reasons why the west was more likely to give women the vote and other rights. See the western states had a dearth of women. Political leaders knew they needed a hook to balance out the population and progressive ideas were the best way to do it. This doesn't fit her altruistic explanation and isn't mentioned.
We run into a couple major problems with the characters she presents. There are way too many. The book is less than 200 pages and contains at least 5 main characters and another dozen supporting characters. They are all presented in very positive light even when there is a big blow up and multiple resignations. Yes, the monolithic and faceless male chauvinists are presented badly (fair enough), but otherwise there is no real narrative conflict. Williams packs so much into a short page count and nothing is given room to breathe.
There is a great story here, and Williams does present some interesting facts. However, she needed to either make this book much longer or cut numerous people to allow for well paced and cohesive narrative.
(This book was provided as an advance reader copy by the publisher.)
Unfortunately, Williams runs into a few problems with her writing. First, she seems to put on the rosiest possible outlook on things she approves of. For instance, the beginning of the book talks about how progressive the west was in comparison to the east of the U.S. She lists many positive and selfless reasons why this would be. However, she skips one of the main reasons why the west was more likely to give women the vote and other rights. See the western states had a dearth of women. Political leaders knew they needed a hook to balance out the population and progressive ideas were the best way to do it. This doesn't fit her altruistic explanation and isn't mentioned.
We run into a couple major problems with the characters she presents. There are way too many. The book is less than 200 pages and contains at least 5 main characters and another dozen supporting characters. They are all presented in very positive light even when there is a big blow up and multiple resignations. Yes, the monolithic and faceless male chauvinists are presented badly (fair enough), but otherwise there is no real narrative conflict. Williams packs so much into a short page count and nothing is given room to breathe.
There is a great story here, and Williams does present some interesting facts. However, she needed to either make this book much longer or cut numerous people to allow for well paced and cohesive narrative.
(This book was provided as an advance reader copy by the publisher.)
December 15, 2024
“Let the women vote, they can’t do any worse than the men.”
I'll start off my saying I don't typically read non-fiction. This Kindle First book for December sounded intriguing, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Please take this review with a grain of salt.
I appreciate the research that was put into writing this book - it's an interesting topic that women faced not very long ago. I'm all about women-empowerment and equality and I was hopeful this book would run with that. However, I think this book would have benefitted from another round of editing -- for a short 200 page book, this book felt LONG. The author introduces just about EVERYONE who had a hand in women's banks and goes into too much detail on many of their backgrounds. If we took out all of details, the rest of the story is the group meeting monthly and waiting around. I know it was a group effort, and again, I appreciate the research the author's research, but it may be been better to focus on 3-4 of the main individuals (or at least get into all of the details on just a few) while telling the overall story.
I enjoyed the beginning, and felt the epilogue summed up the book quite nicely, but could have done with a shorter version of the rest of it.
I'll start off my saying I don't typically read non-fiction. This Kindle First book for December sounded intriguing, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Please take this review with a grain of salt.
I appreciate the research that was put into writing this book - it's an interesting topic that women faced not very long ago. I'm all about women-empowerment and equality and I was hopeful this book would run with that. However, I think this book would have benefitted from another round of editing -- for a short 200 page book, this book felt LONG. The author introduces just about EVERYONE who had a hand in women's banks and goes into too much detail on many of their backgrounds. If we took out all of details, the rest of the story is the group meeting monthly and waiting around. I know it was a group effort, and again, I appreciate the research the author's research, but it may be been better to focus on 3-4 of the main individuals (or at least get into all of the details on just a few) while telling the overall story.
I enjoyed the beginning, and felt the epilogue summed up the book quite nicely, but could have done with a shorter version of the rest of it.
December 5, 2024
I am on the line about this book. I must have misunderstood the book's synopsis because I thought that this was going to be about the first-ever women's bank—it is not. There were so few banks that actually followed the letter of the law at that time period that you can see why something like this was groundbreaking, life-changing, and filled a great need for women.
I can't believe how far women have come, and reading this book has helped me understand just what women just a few years younger than I was at the time went through to get where we are today.
This book was quite interesting if you don't mind that it has extremely dry writing and too many primary, secondary, and tertiary characters. I know it was necessary, but I felt like I needed a spreadsheet to keep track of everyone.
It was a bit of a chore to keep up with everything, and it may have been more enjoyable if I had a degree in finance!
*ARC supplied by the publisher Little A Publishing, the author, and NetGalley.
I can't believe how far women have come, and reading this book has helped me understand just what women just a few years younger than I was at the time went through to get where we are today.
This book was quite interesting if you don't mind that it has extremely dry writing and too many primary, secondary, and tertiary characters. I know it was necessary, but I felt like I needed a spreadsheet to keep track of everyone.
It was a bit of a chore to keep up with everything, and it may have been more enjoyable if I had a degree in finance!
*ARC supplied by the publisher Little A Publishing, the author, and NetGalley.
April 28, 2025
A Woman’s Bank is Needed.
Women had a rough banking issue back in the day. They needed to have their husbands get their loans for them. Or their fathers or brothers get their loans. Women couldn’t get loans back then. Especially if they are single.
Even if they made more money than their husbands. No, no, no! No loans. Unless their husbands co-signed for them. Banking was not kind to women.
So, some women got together and talked amongst themselves. And they talked about what if there is a bank for women. And the women liked the idea. So they formed a group of women who were interested.
A lot of the women were interested and they started having conversations about it. They had meetings every month to discuss it and break it down into pieces.
There is a lot to know about banking and they wanted to be successful. There were other women banks that were not very successful. Many of them failed. Including The Women’s Bank of New York.
They didn’t want their women’s bank to fail. They wanted it to succeed. So they had experts come to their meetings to talk with them about banking. Man or woman, they took their advice.
It was an uphill and downhill struggle, but they persevered and they survived. They succeeded where so many other banks had failed. They founded their bank in 1977. It folded in 2022. A good informative book.
Four stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Women had a rough banking issue back in the day. They needed to have their husbands get their loans for them. Or their fathers or brothers get their loans. Women couldn’t get loans back then. Especially if they are single.
Even if they made more money than their husbands. No, no, no! No loans. Unless their husbands co-signed for them. Banking was not kind to women.
So, some women got together and talked amongst themselves. And they talked about what if there is a bank for women. And the women liked the idea. So they formed a group of women who were interested.
A lot of the women were interested and they started having conversations about it. They had meetings every month to discuss it and break it down into pieces.
There is a lot to know about banking and they wanted to be successful. There were other women banks that were not very successful. Many of them failed. Including The Women’s Bank of New York.
They didn’t want their women’s bank to fail. They wanted it to succeed. So they had experts come to their meetings to talk with them about banking. Man or woman, they took their advice.
It was an uphill and downhill struggle, but they persevered and they survived. They succeeded where so many other banks had failed. They founded their bank in 1977. It folded in 2022. A good informative book.
Four stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
December 30, 2024
I had really hoped to enjoy this book and while I did learn some new things, the book itself read like an 8th grade social studies paper.
March 5, 2026
I really enjoyed learning about women coming together to provide a service to other women that had been denied to them for too long. And each vignette about each woman was fascinating, but because there were so many, and so many time jumps, I really struggled to keep up, despite it not being a long book.
January 21, 2025
This book was soooo boring. The true story is great but it could’ve been told in 50 pages. I only finished because I had the audio.
September 10, 2025
A fascinating and engaging read that documents, once again, when people believed women were just too hysterical and untrustworthy to have their own bank accounts or own property. I found this an easy read, one that I enjoyed because it was quick and kept me curious. I don't read a lot of non-fiction so it was nice to jump into this one and have it feel interesting and easy. I found that the first bank started in Colorado fascinating, I loved learning about the first women who started it and why.
It was a bit shocking to realize that the timeframe this story is told in isn't as far away from my current year as I'd like - especially with such ridiculous ideas about women. But it's a great marker for how much we've gained and what we will not lose. We won't go back.
It was a bit shocking to realize that the timeframe this story is told in isn't as far away from my current year as I'd like - especially with such ridiculous ideas about women. But it's a great marker for how much we've gained and what we will not lose. We won't go back.
December 30, 2024
Couldn’t put it down. Crazy to think all of this only happened about 50 years ago.
July 4, 2025
The book offers a view into the worlds of finance and banking; more specifically, the legal and societal barriers that women had to overcome in order to run their own businesses, obtain bank loans or even establish credit. The establishment of The Women’s Bank in Denver in 1978 was a significant achievement, accomplished by a coalition of women (and a few men) who spent several years towards its founding and development. Their story reminds us of the pervasive discrimination that women faced in the business world in the not too distant past.
But while the subject is compelling, the writing is somewhat pedantic, with lots of extraneous details along with short bios about too many people. As a result, it’s a bit of a slog to get through. And that’s a shame because it’s an important story.
But while the subject is compelling, the writing is somewhat pedantic, with lots of extraneous details along with short bios about too many people. As a result, it’s a bit of a slog to get through. And that’s a shame because it’s an important story.
Read
February 22, 2025The premise of this book sounded so interesting! I thought I was going to learn all about the first women’s bank (you sort of do but it’s actually just about one women’s bank, not the first). You can tell the author is really passionate about the research, but it felt like exactly that, a bunch of research notes bound into a book. There was little to no organization in the way it was laid out. There were a lot of repeats and the timeline jumped around like crazy. The individual stories of the women were the most interesting part, and I wish there was more way more of that and way less of sidebar financial data that really didn’t drive the story.
March 6, 2025
A necessary read, even if you don't care about finance in your daily life. It's so important to acknowledge that women, and indeed people, are stronger together and capable of amazing feats to address the issues that they see in the world. This book is a resolute message that no one is helpless and change starts with asking "how?".
March 8, 2026
Synopsis from book: “The galvanizing true story of a group of remarkable women in the 1970s male-run world of business, banking, and finance. They didn’t play by the rules. They changed them and made history.”
This sounded interesting and since it is one of the books recommended for the Goodreads March challenge, I went ahead and picked it up. While it was fairly interesting and I learned from it, it was also dry and boring; making it difficult for me to stay focused. Thankfully, it was only two hundred pages.
This sounded interesting and since it is one of the books recommended for the Goodreads March challenge, I went ahead and picked it up. While it was fairly interesting and I learned from it, it was also dry and boring; making it difficult for me to stay focused. Thankfully, it was only two hundred pages.
January 25, 2025
important women’s history
The author clearly was enthusiastic about telling the story of the formation of the Women’s Bank in Denver in the 1970s. She highlights the difficulties women had in getting credit and rising to positions of leadership.
The author clearly was enthusiastic about telling the story of the formation of the Women’s Bank in Denver in the 1970s. She highlights the difficulties women had in getting credit and rising to positions of leadership.
March 16, 2026
1⭐️ I’M SORRY I feel bad😭Maybe it is just my fault that I am not a fan of non fiction…
With that being said, I am so confused if I misunderstood what this was supposed to be about ??? I had to finish it off with audio because I genuinely couldn’t get through it.
Okay the research was definitely there and it was written well but there was too much jumping around between people and background I was just like HUHH???? I genuinely feel like what I wanted to read about wasn’t even discussed much ?! I’m so confused maybe I need to re read one day but I would not recommend. I can’t complain though I picked one of the kindle unlimited books to help me earn a badge for the winter challenge 😔 sorry guilty (again)
With that being said, I am so confused if I misunderstood what this was supposed to be about ??? I had to finish it off with audio because I genuinely couldn’t get through it.
Okay the research was definitely there and it was written well but there was too much jumping around between people and background I was just like HUHH???? I genuinely feel like what I wanted to read about wasn’t even discussed much ?! I’m so confused maybe I need to re read one day but I would not recommend. I can’t complain though I picked one of the kindle unlimited books to help me earn a badge for the winter challenge 😔 sorry guilty (again)
Did not finish
April 16, 2025I unfortunately will not be giving this book a rating because I just could not get through it.
The synopsis was interesting to me - a look into the history of banking emphasizing barriers women had to overcoming in financial spaces. The presentation is what missed for me.
The research that went into this was great, but I found the writing to be very dry and it could have gone through additional editing to help with consistency. I don't typically read non-fiction so maybe that is playing a part in my reading experience of this book.
At times it felt like I was reading a high school research paper. Many phrases were repeated more times than necessary and the transition words didn't flow with the writing. It felt almost like the author was trying to hit some sort of word count.
The synopsis was interesting to me - a look into the history of banking emphasizing barriers women had to overcoming in financial spaces. The presentation is what missed for me.
The research that went into this was great, but I found the writing to be very dry and it could have gone through additional editing to help with consistency. I don't typically read non-fiction so maybe that is playing a part in my reading experience of this book.
At times it felt like I was reading a high school research paper. Many phrases were repeated more times than necessary and the transition words didn't flow with the writing. It felt almost like the author was trying to hit some sort of word count.
February 17, 2025
There is a reason this is a free book on Amazon. It’s basically a fleshed out Wikipedia page written at a middle-school reading level. I do think it would be a good book to assign in an high school economics class. The book explains blindingly common events like Brown vs Board of Ed and the Civil Rights Act as if they are new things you never have heard of. Which is good if the audience is 14, not so good for any adult reading the book. The only upside is that the book is 200 pages long and written so simply you can skim read it in a few hours.
January 17, 2025
I really enjoyed learning about this topic, but I found the writing a little choppy. The best parts were about LaRae’s journey!
January 7, 2025
I don’t even know where to start, but the Wild West is as good a place as any. It’s safe to say the west was wild from the beginning, owning to its own rules and standards. Unlike the more traditional east, the west was home to more forward thinking, even towards women. I suppose it makes since that today the west is still known as progressive and why it also stands to reason that the first real Women’s Bank opened in 1978 in the western city of Denver. It only took them decades of history and three years to do it.
The book begins in 1975, also the year I was born, and details the lives of many women and their struggle to create this bank, along with all the hurdles and all the ridiculousness that occurred along the way. Since the stories happened during my lifetime and I can draw parallels with my mom and her friends I found myself COMPLETELY FASCINATED with the history and stories.
It was 1975 and women couldn’t get credit. Couldn’t get loans. If married, their salary didn’t count towards a loan. They weren’t allowed into certain “all male restaurants and grills.” They couldn’t or shouldn’t wear pants. They had to wear pantyhose. They were dismissed from their job if pregnant and if they wanted to stay employed they had to show proof of birth control. The struggle and lack of equality was endless.
And I remember it. I remember everything coming addressed to my dad or to Mrs. Dad’s Name. I remember my mom and her friends not having credit cards or cars or anything in their own name. I remember them babysitting because they had trouble getting and keeping real jobs. And whoa…how much has changed in my lifetime?! It’s incredible and their generation paved the way.
And yet, while some of it was absolutely necessary I’m still left with the question…have we taken feminism too far? Will we ever arrive at a place where women are happy? Do we all want to work full time and be independent or were we happier at home raising kids? Is there a middle ground? How much do we want to saddle ourselves with? I have so many questions and I haven’t found the answers. It will probably always remain the million dollar question, but I will never quit trying to find the answer.
The book begins in 1975, also the year I was born, and details the lives of many women and their struggle to create this bank, along with all the hurdles and all the ridiculousness that occurred along the way. Since the stories happened during my lifetime and I can draw parallels with my mom and her friends I found myself COMPLETELY FASCINATED with the history and stories.
It was 1975 and women couldn’t get credit. Couldn’t get loans. If married, their salary didn’t count towards a loan. They weren’t allowed into certain “all male restaurants and grills.” They couldn’t or shouldn’t wear pants. They had to wear pantyhose. They were dismissed from their job if pregnant and if they wanted to stay employed they had to show proof of birth control. The struggle and lack of equality was endless.
And I remember it. I remember everything coming addressed to my dad or to Mrs. Dad’s Name. I remember my mom and her friends not having credit cards or cars or anything in their own name. I remember them babysitting because they had trouble getting and keeping real jobs. And whoa…how much has changed in my lifetime?! It’s incredible and their generation paved the way.
And yet, while some of it was absolutely necessary I’m still left with the question…have we taken feminism too far? Will we ever arrive at a place where women are happy? Do we all want to work full time and be independent or were we happier at home raising kids? Is there a middle ground? How much do we want to saddle ourselves with? I have so many questions and I haven’t found the answers. It will probably always remain the million dollar question, but I will never quit trying to find the answer.
March 12, 2026
I really wanted to like this more than I ended up liking it. It was engaging, full of facts yet sprinkled with engaging story, and soul, and grit. And then the end happened. The end of the book. Abrupt. Like falling off a cliff. Why, just why, did you put the climax of the story, of the tale, in the epilogue like a list of grocery items needing to be checked off?!? You weaved this gorgeous narrative of who’s who and who’s doing what and who’s got what talent and what challenges and then you wrap it up as summary in the epilogue??? That fell flat. And that is unfortunate. It’s good history, important history, but just told with a lack of engagement at the end, at the climax, at the triumphant moment. Sort of a let down.
March 15, 2026
Really enjoyed learning about the Women’s Bank! It gave me renewed faith that women can excel in every space, including banking and finance, and move the world, if not slowly, forward.
December 13, 2024
This was an incredibly interesting story about one of the first banks owned by all women and that lended money to women. A super fast read too.
May 20, 2025
Sometimes there are books with really interesting subject matter but you wish they existed in a slightly different writing style.
This is one of those.
This is one of those.
February 8, 2026
A similar book with broader scope of women’s banks in America in general could be amazing
January 15, 2025
Thankful for those who tried
Free Kindle book. Great history of the struggles women had in the 70's and 80's to have financial freedom. This book highlights the women who helped form a truly equitable bank in Denver. Not a story, but more factual of events that took place for the bank to form. This book definitely took a lot research and effort to write.
Free Kindle book. Great history of the struggles women had in the 70's and 80's to have financial freedom. This book highlights the women who helped form a truly equitable bank in Denver. Not a story, but more factual of events that took place for the bank to form. This book definitely took a lot research and effort to write.
January 10, 2025
I love microhistories, and while I was a bit skeptical going into this one that there was enough material here for a book, Williams surprised me with this delightfully entertaining and intriguing piece of narrative nonfiction about the women’s bank in Denver.
I generally don’t love nonfiction history that focuses heavily on biographical information (preferring instead a broader sociocontextual perspective), but it worked well here and a lot of that is down to Williams ability as a writer. Like all good narrative nonfiction this reads like a novel, and its real-life “characters” are both compelling and easy to invest in.
Sometimes reading things like this makes me kind of mad, thinking about how relatively recent it is that women had so little control over their finances (not to mention that the country now feels like it’s going backward in that regard, further adding to my anxiety and unrest), but the tone and trajectory of this (while certainly recognizing the central misogyny at play) mostly makes it feel like a success story, and I loved that.
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
I generally don’t love nonfiction history that focuses heavily on biographical information (preferring instead a broader sociocontextual perspective), but it worked well here and a lot of that is down to Williams ability as a writer. Like all good narrative nonfiction this reads like a novel, and its real-life “characters” are both compelling and easy to invest in.
Sometimes reading things like this makes me kind of mad, thinking about how relatively recent it is that women had so little control over their finances (not to mention that the country now feels like it’s going backward in that regard, further adding to my anxiety and unrest), but the tone and trajectory of this (while certainly recognizing the central misogyny at play) mostly makes it feel like a success story, and I loved that.
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
January 2, 2025
It’s a great story but too many details and hard to follow all the different people and the financial information was over my head. I did appreciate where the people came from but the rest was too dry for me
March 20, 2026
5⭐️
I never would have chosen this book on my own. In a dash to find a book to complete the Goodreads Winter challenge, I was shown this one. Still, it was not my first choice. It was just the only choice available to read&listen on Kindle Unlimited. Since I wasn't interested in any of the choices enough to spend more money, this seemed like the obvious choice. (Not to mention it's only about 200 pages)
Williams has given not just a detailed account but a captivating one as well, on the subject of women's struggles to obtain financial freedom and equality.
She doesn't just stick to the subject of feminine economics but racial and social inequality. She highlighted the struggles our mothers faced just to earn the right to control their own money and status.
As far as a bank used to be concerned, only the man's income used to count. A woman's money was not considered steady. It was disposable. Even if the woman made more.... only her husband's counted towards a loan or a mortgage.
A woman couldn't hold a bank account. Couldn't get a loan. But could work and pay taxes.
Women didn't just need to be smart. They needed to be beautiful and well put together. Men could show up casually dressed while women had to be well put together. Complete with the dreaded pantyhose is the plastic egg.
I had no idea the start of the pink tax being overturned was over pantyhose.
This book feels like it must be long past history brought to life through engaging narrative. It's hard to comprehend that the eara talked about is only late 70s. Only 50 years ago! As far as we have come, we still have further to go.
I never would have chosen this book on my own. In a dash to find a book to complete the Goodreads Winter challenge, I was shown this one. Still, it was not my first choice. It was just the only choice available to read&listen on Kindle Unlimited. Since I wasn't interested in any of the choices enough to spend more money, this seemed like the obvious choice. (Not to mention it's only about 200 pages)
Williams has given not just a detailed account but a captivating one as well, on the subject of women's struggles to obtain financial freedom and equality.
She doesn't just stick to the subject of feminine economics but racial and social inequality. She highlighted the struggles our mothers faced just to earn the right to control their own money and status.
As far as a bank used to be concerned, only the man's income used to count. A woman's money was not considered steady. It was disposable. Even if the woman made more.... only her husband's counted towards a loan or a mortgage.
A woman couldn't hold a bank account. Couldn't get a loan. But could work and pay taxes.
Women didn't just need to be smart. They needed to be beautiful and well put together. Men could show up casually dressed while women had to be well put together. Complete with the dreaded pantyhose is the plastic egg.
I had no idea the start of the pink tax being overturned was over pantyhose.
This book feels like it must be long past history brought to life through engaging narrative. It's hard to comprehend that the eara talked about is only late 70s. Only 50 years ago! As far as we have come, we still have further to go.
December 6, 2024
Give Her Credit: The Untold Story of a Women's Bank That Empowered a Generation tells a true story of remarkable women that changed the financial game. These women did not play by the rules. Instead, they changed them and made history.
Feminism began sweeping the nation in the 1970s. But not in every sector. Banking and finance was still the boy's club. Women needed a male co-signer. Income was completely ignored or considered unreliable. Loan applications would include invasive questions about birth control. It wasn't until 1978 that women were given access to lines of credit without a man "vouching" for her. The Women's Bank in Denver, Colorado, would operate like other banks with one caveat: women would be treated fairly and given the same financing/business opportunities usually reserved for men.
In just under 200 pages, we are introduced to a slew of characters. Most are the founders and members involved in the opening of Women's Bank. Others are women who struggled to become entrepreneurs but was granted a loan and given financial advice at the Women's Bank. And the stories I took a liking to most were of the women who made a career in banking, starting from a messenger girl to coin wrapper girl to businesswomen on Wall Street. While I appreciated the many examples, it was still too much jammed into so few pages.
These women came together to build the most successful female-run bank in the nation. Give Her Credit tells their story—the challenges and the achievements. From the rounded countertops design to control of the stock. It is inspiring, revolutionary and will give female readers a jolt of pride. On the same coin, this nonfiction book is a blaring reminder that history can, and often does, repeat itself. Hence, here we are in 2024 fighting for women's rights and equal pay. Deliberate timing on the author's or publisher's part? Hmmm...
Bookhearts, I recommend reading this appropriately titled new book when it releases in the new year. Give Her Credit where credit is due!
Happy Early Pub Day, Grace L. Williams! Give Her Credit will be available Tuesday, January 1, 2025.
Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie
Feminism began sweeping the nation in the 1970s. But not in every sector. Banking and finance was still the boy's club. Women needed a male co-signer. Income was completely ignored or considered unreliable. Loan applications would include invasive questions about birth control. It wasn't until 1978 that women were given access to lines of credit without a man "vouching" for her. The Women's Bank in Denver, Colorado, would operate like other banks with one caveat: women would be treated fairly and given the same financing/business opportunities usually reserved for men.
In just under 200 pages, we are introduced to a slew of characters. Most are the founders and members involved in the opening of Women's Bank. Others are women who struggled to become entrepreneurs but was granted a loan and given financial advice at the Women's Bank. And the stories I took a liking to most were of the women who made a career in banking, starting from a messenger girl to coin wrapper girl to businesswomen on Wall Street. While I appreciated the many examples, it was still too much jammed into so few pages.
These women came together to build the most successful female-run bank in the nation. Give Her Credit tells their story—the challenges and the achievements. From the rounded countertops design to control of the stock. It is inspiring, revolutionary and will give female readers a jolt of pride. On the same coin, this nonfiction book is a blaring reminder that history can, and often does, repeat itself. Hence, here we are in 2024 fighting for women's rights and equal pay. Deliberate timing on the author's or publisher's part? Hmmm...
Bookhearts, I recommend reading this appropriately titled new book when it releases in the new year. Give Her Credit where credit is due!
Happy Early Pub Day, Grace L. Williams! Give Her Credit will be available Tuesday, January 1, 2025.
Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie
July 31, 2025
Really wanted more from this.
The topic itself is interesting, it never occurred to me before that there had to be a first women’s bank.
The execution is where I lost interest. There is a lot of focus on the women’s physical appearance. So many mentions of “her sky blue eyes” or “tight, form fitting clothes.” I understand that women are judged based on their physical appearance, but after a certain point you don’t need to remind me that she’s blonde with blue eyes and a nice figure.
It also felt like there was a lot of written fluff impeding actually getting to the bank opening. Clearly a lot of research went into this so that aspect of it is there. We just spend so much time on these women’s personal lives that it feels more like I’m reading about them rather than the bank they want to open.
This book also reads like a college report. In of itself that’s not awful, it’s just so boring. There are attempts at humor and being more entertaining but it just falls flat. I want to know about the bank yes, but I don’t want to feel like I’m reading off a statistics page about various facts.
Disappointed with this read. I went into it wanting to learn more about women’s economics and left barely understanding how the bank performed.
The topic itself is interesting, it never occurred to me before that there had to be a first women’s bank.
The execution is where I lost interest. There is a lot of focus on the women’s physical appearance. So many mentions of “her sky blue eyes” or “tight, form fitting clothes.” I understand that women are judged based on their physical appearance, but after a certain point you don’t need to remind me that she’s blonde with blue eyes and a nice figure.
It also felt like there was a lot of written fluff impeding actually getting to the bank opening. Clearly a lot of research went into this so that aspect of it is there. We just spend so much time on these women’s personal lives that it feels more like I’m reading about them rather than the bank they want to open.
This book also reads like a college report. In of itself that’s not awful, it’s just so boring. There are attempts at humor and being more entertaining but it just falls flat. I want to know about the bank yes, but I don’t want to feel like I’m reading off a statistics page about various facts.
Disappointed with this read. I went into it wanting to learn more about women’s economics and left barely understanding how the bank performed.
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