Banks aren’t equipped to interpret women’s biographies
The Trump administration has signed an executive order directing federal agencies to strengthen banking identity verification, which may disproportionately burden women whose names and legal identities change over time. This order assumes that identity is linear, which is often not the case for women who change their names due to marriage, divorce, or other life events. The new requirements may lead to reverification requirements for existing banking customers who are women, particularly less affluent women.
- ▪The executive order requires banks and credit unions to collect and analyze citizenship documentation for those opening or maintaining accounts.
- ▪The order may highlight systemic flaws and require women to bear the brunt of design inequality due to name-mismatches.
- ▪Women with valid US passports will likely face less scrutiny than those using other documents to confirm their citizenship.
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Opinion>Opinions - Finance The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill Banks aren’t equipped to interpret women’s biographies Comments: by Jennifer Kady Stanton and Karen Benedict, opinion contributors - 05/24/26 12:00 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Jennifer Kady Stanton and Karen Benedict, opinion contributors - 05/24/26 12:00 PM ET Comments: Link copied A customer enters a US Bancorp branch in downtown Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Photographer: Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images Banks were never designed to be the interpreters of women’s identities.
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