Just a point of clarification, as a woman born in 1954. Women could get bank accounts and credit cards in their own names – I moved to California in 1970 to attend college and had no trouble at all walking into a bank to open an account. I also applied for a department store card at Macy’s to build up credit, and I know I had my first Mastercard in 1972.
The problem was for MARRIED women – marriage meant the loss of one’s independent status, with everything then subsumed on the husband’s record. That is one reason I did get credit cards early on in my own name – the financial advice was that it was very important for women to establish an independent record early on.
If things hadn’t changed, it might have impacted my decision to get married down the line. (I got married in the early 1980’s, divorced mid 1990’s).
And that history probably did impact my decision to retain my maiden name.
The basic problem was the concept of women as being subservient to their husbands.
That doesn’t mean that there wasn’t other types of banking discrimination – that I can’t speak to because wasn’t in a position to seek out a business loan or a mortgage.