In 1978, in Denver, Colorado, eight women did something the system wasn’t designed to support—they created their own.
Not long before that, women in the U.S. couldn’t get a credit card or secure a loan without a man’s signature. Financial independence wasn’t a right—it was something conditional.
But Carol Green, Judi Wagner, LaRae Orullian, Gail Schoettler, Wendy Davis, Joy Burns, Beverly Martinez, and Edna Mosely had had enough.
Each of them contributed $1,000—not just to open accounts, but to open a bank.
On July 14, 1978, The Women’s Bank opened its doors with a clear mission: to give women control over their own money. No more needing permission. No more being seen as financial risks simply for being single, divorced, or widowed.
The line to get in stretched around the block.
By the end of that day, over $1 million had been deposited.
They didn’t wait for a seat at the table.
They built their own table—and invited every woman to take her place.
Because of them, millions of women today don’t just have bank accounts.
They have power.
