Almost since the time our county was formed, women have fought for the right to have the same opportunities as men-including the right to be included in the financial world. The following is a brief overview of the evolution of women's rights and money.

Women as investment objects. Hard as it may be to believe, during the early days of our country's history, women were considered property. The course of their lives was often determined by fathers, brothers and husbands. It wasn't until the mid-1800s that women could own property separately from their spouses. However, if there was a divorce, the husbands retained control of all property, including the children! Women were rarely financially independent in the late 19th century: however, at about that time women made their first mark on Wall Street.

The first women on Wall Street. Victoria Woodhill and her sister were travelling the country as spiritualists when they met Cornelius Vanderbilt. Impressed by the sisters' unique personalities and outspoken manner, Vanderbilt helped them open Woodhill, Claflin & Company, The first women-run brokerage firm on Wall Street. And this was in 1870!

The evolution of women's financial independence. In 1920, after winning the right to vote, many women began to take charge of their own finances. As newspapers and radio made the stock tables easier for everyone to understand, many women recognized that investing required many of the same skills they were using to manage household budgets. By the time the market crashed in the fall of 1929, many women across the country had dabbled in the market.

The move to modern-day Wall Street. During the late 1950s, women breached the gender barrier of modern-day Wall Street. A seat on the New York Stock Exchange was purchased by a woman, and another woman served as commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission. At the same time, many women had to deal with the assumptions that having children was out of the question if they wanted a career, and the long-held belief that the responsibilities of maintaining a home were a woman's responsibility.

The role of investment clubs. By the 1980s, many women believed they had the skills and the intuition to invest in the stock market: they just lacked the capital to get started. Building on a heritage of working together to solve problems, women began forming investment clubs. These clubs have given hundreds of women the opportunity to study the world of finance and to increase their investment knowledge, often while tucking away substantial earnings.