When was the last time you pulled out your credit card? Since the 1950s, Americans have increasingly used credit to accomplish their economic goals, whether purchasing goods and services, starting a business, or buying a home. But until the 1970s, women had far less access to credit than men. Before 1974, in fact, if you were a single woman, you almost always needed your father, brother, or other male relative to co-sign loans for you, even if you made more money than they did. If you were a married woman, you could not obtain credit cards in your own name—you could only get a card as Mrs. Your Husband’s Name. And then, no matter how carefully you paid the bills and managed the account, the credit history accrued only to him. As a result, if your husband died or you divorced, it was nearly impossible for you to obtain a loan. If a couple applied for a mortgage, the bank often ignored the woman’s income in deciding how much they could afford; the bank’s assumption was that if the wife became pregnant, she would leave the workforce and lose her income. Shockingly, to include the woman’s income in the loan application, some banks required couples to produce “baby letters,” in which the woman’s doctor attested that she’d had a hysterectomy or was on birth control and would not get pregnant.