Gender Differential and Financial Inclusion: Women Shareholders of Banco Hispano Americano in Spain (1922–35)

This study reveals that women had a significant presence as shareholders in Spanish financial corporations in the early-twentieth century. In the 1920s and 1930s, on average, 40 percent of the shareholders of Banco Hispano Americano, a leading commercial bank, were women, and they owned more than one-third of the share capital. The legal framework did not discriminate against women’s ownership, and bank regulations did not discourage women from investing in shares. The main cause of the large share of women shareholders is kinship with other shareholders. The findings also highlight the importance of inheritance regimes that treat all siblings equally, regardless of sex, to access parents’ wealth to reduce the wealth gap. Finally, the study highlights how historical cases may contribute to current debates on how women gain and retain wealth through access to financial assets. HIGHLIGHTS Historical narratives unearth the roots of contemporary financial gender inequality in an effort to narrow the gender gap. The case of the Banco Hispano Americano in Spain highlights effective strategies for promoting women’s financial inclusion. Egalitarian inheritance regimes facilitate women’s access to financial wealth. Urban areas increase women’s agency through access to financial information. Financial assets may secure women’s well-being when other support is lacking.