Grace L. Williams, author of “Give Her Credit.” (Credit: Dan D’Errico)
Grace L. Williams tells the story of the Denver women who launched the Women’s Bank in 1978 – and changed the banking game forever.
In the 1970s, bankers frequently (and often, unapologetically) told women that they needed their fathers, husbands and sometimes even young sons to co-sign for their loans. That didn’t sit well with a group of Denver women, who after meeting in suburban living rooms and eventually raising millions of dollars from investors, proceeded to launch the Women’s Bank in 1978.
In the new book, “Give Her Credit,” my former Wall Street Journal colleague Grace L. Williams shares the story of the founders – some of whom are still alive – and their efforts. She particularly wanted to highlight LaRae Orullian, now 91, who as a career woman in the 1970s “watched as men she trained got promoted while she got patted on the back and was expected to be okay with being passed over – grateful even,” Williams says. Orullian eventually “walked out the door” and became the first president of the Women’s Bank.
Williams, who also worked at financial publication Barron’s, says she was recruited by a book packager – in the literary world, a company that has an idea for a book – to write the tome. The packager was “looking for ‘a badass female financial journalist’ to research and write the story,” she says, and “it turned out to be me.” As someone who has worked with her, and followed her on Instagram for many years, I concur: She is a badass female financial journalist.
I asked her about the book, bias against women, and what she hopes readers will come away with.
Q&A is lightly edited for length and clarity.
Tell us about the book.
It’s all about feminism, finance, history and justice. “Give Her Credit” is about several of the remarkable women who founded the most successful women’s bank in U.S. history. They started the bank because, despite changes to laws around credit and banking regarding discrimination, money was still very gendered and banks didn’t get on board.
What research did you need to do?
I’m probably forgetting some, but interviews: the founders who still live with us today, some children of the deceased founders. And of course, there were meeting minutes, there was a ton of Women’s Bank archive research, and I read thousands of pages of the Denver Post.
What’s a big takeaway for those who want to lead movements today?
Group-wise, when you’re pushing for change, it’s important to get on the same page and not to stray from it. This means that for some, there will have to be ego deaths, and for others, they will peel off. Individually, each woman involved in the bank brought such relatable and human nuances to this story, so despite their stature or positions in society, they resonated with me as a mother, entrepreneur, wife, frustrated employee, etc.
What would surprise people to know about women and credit?
The way it was marketed to women in general back then as a man’s thing, despite women being (and continuing to be) major decision makers in family finance and purchase matters. That still blows my mind. The fact that you could out-earn your spouse and be told by a mortgage broker that your income didn’t count toward the mortgage because you could be pregnant at any time – with the implication that “pregnant” equals “you’re quitting your job.”
Today, women still face obstacles when it comes to access to capital. Have we come a long way, or is there still a long way to go?
We used to legally be considered a man’s property, right up there with a farm and a horse – so in some senses, we’ve climbed some steep hills and conquered some of the big ones for sure. But it’s only because the women who’ve come before us said “hell no” to the status quo and fought tooth and nail to change things. I am also watching what’s happening in our current political climate and wondering how much the clock could be turning back. Oof!
What is your favorite part of the book?
I got delightfully lost when putting together these women’s stories. Whether it was from them, an article, or one of their children narrating their truths, I loved getting to know them. They are an eclectic bunch who might not have even run in the same circles, voted the same ways, or faced the same realities – but they believed something was wrong, and that they could actually do what needed to be done to change it. That always and forever gives me chills. ◼️
