there was nothing preventing women from having bank accounts before 1974.
Depending on which banks were available in her area, she may still have been unable to open a credit card despite it being legal to do so. Prior to 1974, it was legal for banks to require a man’s signature for a woman to open a credit card, and many banks chose to require this. According to this article from the Smithsonian Magazine, some banks also applied a 50% reduction to womens’ wages when calculating the credit card limit for an applicant.
I agree that the facts are very frequently misrepresented.
Depending on which banks were available in her area, she may still have been unable to open a credit card despite it being legal to do so. Prior to 1974, it was legal for banks to require a man’s signature for a woman to open a credit card, and many banks chose to require this. According to this article from the Smithsonian Magazine, some banks also applied a 50% reduction to womens’ wages when calculating the credit card limit for an applicant.
I agree that the facts are very frequently misrepresented.