A History Of Banking On (and For) Women - BBVA

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The campaign was a resounding success in two senses. On one hand, Spanish women found a bank that gave them what they needed. According to the numbers kept in the historic archives, from the beginning of the campaign through 1970, Banco de Bilbao opened more than 87,000 accounts totaling more than 1.5 billion pesetas in deposits (more than €9 million or $9.6 million in today’s money).

The Woman's Bank

The role of family co-responsibility in the struggle for gender equality

Justified by the numbers it had reached, the bank created The Woman’s Bank, a special service for women, whose mission was to provide female employees banking and financial advice as well as helping them open bank accounts and receive mortgage application approvals. Starting in 1973, the service was rolled-out to close to 300 of the bank’s largest branches in Spain and was staffed primarily by female employees. Until 1969, women working in banking was almost unheard of. Those women who did work in banks were usually in support positions (receptionists, secretaries, typists, etc.) and almost never customer-facing.

The first issues of the bank’s internal magazine, “Diana,” and press clippings from the time demonstrate the important impetus that was given to incorporating women in the workforce. Aiming to showcase the role of women within the organization, interviews to be published in “Diana” were conducted with the first women stepping into senior roles.

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