Women in Credit Unions Today

Earlier this week, we wrote about the historical female figures that shaped credit union history. But, importantly, there are still amazing women leaders in the credit union movement today. A study conducted by Credit Union National Association, or CUNA, (now known as America’s Credit Unions) found that over half (51%) of credit union CEOs are women. And generally speaking, about 60% of all credit union employees are women. For us at NorthRidge, that percentage is closer to 90%!

Gigi Hyland

A particularly influential credit union leader today is Gigi Hyland, the Executive Director of the National Credit Union Foundation. From Gigi’s bio: “The Foundation is the philanthropic and social responsibility leader of the credit union movement in the US; they raise funds, make grants, manage programs, and provide education to empower consumers to achieve financial freedom through credit unions.” TLDR; the Foundation is the heart and soul of the credit union philosophy: people helping people.

Before joining the Foundation, Ms. Hyland was a board member of the NCUA (National Credit Union Administration). The NCUA insures member deposits at credit unions and is the governing body for credit union regulation. While there, Ms. Hyland led the development of many new programs and initiatives for the benefit of credit unions and consumers.

Prior to her board presence with NCUA, Ms. Hyland spent 14 years serving the credit union movement as an executive, attorney, and advocate.

Authoring this blog is Ashley Kjenaas, Marketing Coordinator at NorthRidge Credit Union. I had the honor of meeting Gigi Hyland. It was October 2023, and I was in Madison, WI at Credit Union Development Educator (CUDE) training that is provided by the National Credit Union Foundation. At the CUDE graduation ceremony, Gigi watched our presentations (talk about intimidating!) and when she spoke after, she said something that will forever be in my heart, “We are not just a credit union movement, we are a world peace movement.”

That is who we are, and that is our mission. And we have Gigi Hyland as an incredible leader to move us forward.

Women in Credit Unions

Earlier this week, we introduced you to the Mother of Credit Unions, Louise Herring. An amazing pioneer of the credit union movement, and a woman we honor still to this day. If you missed the post, read it here!

Today is about another remarkable woman and pioneer of the credit union movement, Dora Maxwell.

Dora Maxwell

Dora Maxwell was born in 1897 in the state of New York. She and her five siblings were raised by her mom after her dad passed away when she was just two years old. While she was in high school, at age 14, her mom passed away. Dora left high school after two years and worked various office jobs for the rest of her teen years to afford a place to live. She began working as a secretary for a community church to supplement her income.

Dora eventually attended a class to learn about cooperatives. She was moved by the idea of grocery cooperatives but did not think one would work in New York City. Though, she knew she wanted to do something constructive with this knowledge. It was then that she partnered with Hyman Cohen, who had also attended the class, to start a credit union.

This was in the early 1920s, and credit unions at that time were not well-known yet. There were, however, organizations called axias that were operating illegally in New York. Axias were similar to credit unions but were not chartered and legal.

Dora Moves Credit Unions Forward

Dora helped organize one of the first credit unions in New York: Consumers Cooperative Credit Union. It was headquartered in the church where she worked. She volunteered as the treasurer for the credit union for some time before being called upon to assist with additional charters around New York City and into upstate New York.

The New York Banking Commissioners Department in the early 1920’s was intimidating, male-dominated, and determined to not issue additional charters for credit unions. In Dora’s own words they were “antagonistic” and “armed.” But she persisted, month after month. Dora is credited with chartering over 120 credit unions in New York.

If you recall from our story about Louise Herring the conference held in Estes Park, CO to establish the Credit Union National Association, Dora Maxwell was also in attendance. From there, she traveled around the country to connect leaders of special groups with CUNA to allow for more new charters than ever before.

Dora believed in serving the underserved and focused heavily on small, rural communities that did not have other banking options. She was fierce in her belief that credit unions should uplift the communities they are in and do good. Dora was a credit union champion and incredible woman.

NorthRidge aligns with Dora Maxwell’s belief in uplifting communities and operating for the greater good. Our purpose is to support the people in our communities; to encourage their learning and understanding of their unique financial situations and provide tools for our members to reach their dreams. Dora’s amazing leadership still guides us, 100 years later. What an impactful woman!

Women in Credit Unions

March is Women’s History Month, and March 8th is recognized as International Women’s Day. At NorthRidge, we are proud to recognize the roles that women have played in history, and specifically, in the history of the credit union movement. We are also proud to recognize the women that still shape credit unions today. Afterall, our NorthRidge team is almost 90% women! Take a look at our Meet the Team page.

This week, we are going to highlight and honor some of these amazing women. 

Let’s rewind briefly: The credit union movement is about inclusion and financial wellness for all. The credit union philosophy is “People Helping People,” a phrase credited to the Mother of Credit Unions.

The Mother of Credit Unions

Louise McCarren Herring was an Ohio native who graduated from University of Cincinnati with a business degree. After graduation, she went to work for the corporate office of the still well-known grocery chain, Kroger. While there, Louise started noticing the effects of debt. This was in the early 1930’s, so desperation and despair were growing increasingly rampant. 

Louise grew outraged at a local organization called “The Bucket Shop.” It was a loan operation that charged insanely high interest rates to desperate people that ran out of other options. Thus, inevitably trapping them in a cycle of debt from which they could not emerge (a similar type of operation still exists today, commonly known as payday lenders).

Then, Louise learned about new financial institutions that were slowly growing on the east coast, known as credit unions. People pooled their resources together and loaned money to each other… at much lower interest rates than The Bucket Shop.

Still fresh out of college, Louise led the development of 13 credit unions to serve Kroger employees. Credit unions at that time were typically much smaller operations ran by volunteers.

The Movement

Credit unions began to spread across the United States. Leaders of this early credit union movement decided they needed to create a nationwide support association. So, they called a conference in Estes Park, Colorado in August 1934 to establish such an organization. Credit union organizations were asked to send a representative to the meeting and the Kroger Company sent Louise Herring, age 23 and the youngest to attend.

This Estes Park conference birthed the Credit Union National Association, or CUNA (which has just undergone a name change to America’s Credit Unions as of 2024), a trade association for all credit unions in the United States of America. Louise Herring was the first female board member for CUNA and utilized that position to launch the Ohio Credit Union League. She went on to help charter over 500 credit unions in her career. She was a key leader in the credit union movement, and a firm believer of the equality of access to affordable banking services for all people from all walks of life.

Credit unions across the country still honor and celebrate the impact and importance of Louise Herring’s work in the movement. America’s Credit Unions (formerly CUNA) annually awards the Louise Herring Award for Philosophy in Action. This award recognizes certain credit unions that “demonstrate the exceptional effort to integrate credit union philosophy (not for profit, but for service) into their daily operations and recognize their commitment to superior service to their member owners.” NorthRidge Community Credit Union has won this award twice in the Minnesota capacity and received an honorable mention nationwide in 2022. We are honored to live out what Louise Herring, incredible woman and credit union pioneer, started.