Business & Economics

Content type
Collection

Bertha Klausner

Bertha Klausner was an influential literary agent in New York and Los Angeles. One of the earliest female literary agents, she represented major writers and cultural figures throughout the twentieth century.

Birth of Ruth de Krivoy, First Female President of the Venezuelan Central Bank

July 2, 1942

Ruth de Krivoy is a highly influential Venezuelan macroeconomist who specializes in the dynamics between monetary and fiscal policy and politics, as well as economic crisis resolution. Through her decades-long career in monetary policy and public service, she has paved the way for women in economics in Venezuela.

The Moneylender and his Wife by Quentin Matsys, 1514

Tzedek in Action: The CFPB's New Rules

Zia Saylor

By creating rules that restrict banks from charging excessive fees, the CFPB is pursuing the Jewish concept of tzedek.

Katie Draisen cooking

7 Questions For Katie Draisen

Sarah Groustra

JWA talks to Boston-based private chef Katie Draisen. 

Topics: Food, Entrepreneurs
Collage of a Barbie Doll

The Real-World Impacts of Barbie Dolls

Elah Tuchshnieder

Despite her being a doll, I believed Barbie was the beauty standard. That all changed when I saw the Barbie movie this summer.

Marcy Syms

Project
General

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Judge Marcy Syms on October 3, 2023, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Judge Abrams explores her family, education, career path, focus on gender issues, and notable legal cases in an interview. The interview with Marcy Syms covers her diverse life, exploring her immigrant and Jewish roots, early encounters with feminism, experiences with discrimination, leadership in her family's company, activism for the Equal Rights Amendment, and insights into gender equality and workplace reforms.

Antoinette Matlins

Project
DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's History Project

Sandra Stillman Gartner and Ann Buffum interviewed Antoinette Matlins on July 20 and September 28, 2006, in South Woodstock, Vermont, as part of the Vermont Jewish Women's Oral History Project. Matlins recounts her diverse heritage, religious upbringing, conversion to Judaism, and her role in establishing a vibrant Jewish community in Vermont with her husband, Stuart Matlins, through the creation of Shir Shalom.

Collage of line drawing of a crowd of women on a deep purple background

Reclaiming "Like a Girl"

Adina Gerwin

I had to ask the question a 2015 Always ad poses: "why would I let ‘like a girl’ stop me?" Acting like a girl works, and is not something I need to be ashamed of.

Frances Berman Sulsky

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Frances Berman Sulsky was interviewed by Elaine Eff on April 30, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland for the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Sulsky discusses her upbringing, millinery career, family moves, the Jewish neighborhood, business growth, and reflections on being a businesswoman and life in Baltimore.

Sylvia Willard

Project
DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's History Project

Sandy Gartner and Ann Buffum interviewed Sylvia Willard on June 29, 2005, in Rutland, Vermont, as part of the Vermont Jewish Women's Oral History Project. Willard shares her family history, growing up in Vermont, her passion for theater, involvement in the Jewish community, meeting her husband Howard, and their successful ventures in the retail industry.

Micky Loveman

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Elaine Eff interviewed Miriam “Micky” Loveman on August 14, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Loveman reflects on her life journey, from her childhood in Boston to move to Baltimore, her successful career in shoe sales, and her experiences with family and relationships, highlighting her love for her work and the joy she found in connecting with customers.

Marjorie Edenfeld

Project
Women Whose Lives Span the Century

Frances Godine interviewed Marjorie Loeb Edenfield on October 31, 1997, in Boston, Massachusetts, as of the Women Whose Lives Spanned the Century Oral History Project. Edenfield reflects on her late accomplishments, experiences of identity, family dynamics, religious affiliation, motherhood, and career at Filene's, and contemplates friendship, spirituality, and gratitude.

Hedy Ratner

Project
Women Who Dared

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Hedy Ratner on January 31, 2007, in Chicago, Illinois, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Ratner shares her journey from her childhood in Chicago as an immigrant's child to her experiences with Jewish education, women's liberation, social justice activism, and her evolving relationship with Judaism, highlighting the influential figures and moments in her life.

Ruth Salmonson Krasnoff

Project
Women Whose Lives Span the Century

Miriam Smulow interviewed Ruth Salmonson Krasnoff on January 18, 1983, in Brookline, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Whose Lives Span the Century Oral History Project. Krasnoff shares her family's immigration history, her upbringing in Dorchester, her career in the business world, and her deep connection to Temple Israel.

Hinda Miller

Project
DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's History Project

Ann Zinn Buffum and Sandra Stillman Gartner interviewed Hinda Miller on December 5, 2006, in Burlington, Vermont as part of DAVAR's Vermont Jewish Oral History Project. Miller details her family background, travels to Lithuania, Ireland, and England, growing up in Montreal, educational experiences, involvement in yoga and Kabbalah, inventing the sports bra, political career as a state senator, and reflections on her family and Jewish identity.

Selma Litman

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Marcie Cohen Ferris interviewed Selma Cohen Litman on July 9, 2002, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Litman recalls her family history, including her father's journey from Russia to the United States, her mother's immigration, and her childhood memories in Baltimore, as well as experiences working at a Bridal Shop and balancing her career with raising her children in a vibrant Jewish household.

Richard Lipsey

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Richard Lipsey on October 28, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Lipsey shares his family background, military service, and community involvement in Baton Rouge, emphasizing his pivotal role in facilitating rescue missions, coordinating angel flights, and leading a city-wide effort to rescue Torahs after Hurricane Katrina.

Elsie Miller Legum

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Elaine Eff interviewed Elsie Miller Legum on April 19, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women’s Words Oral History Project. Legum talks about her childhood in a large family, strict upbringing, Jewish observance, neighborhoods in Baltimore, elopement, work at Miller Brothers, second marriage, and reflections on friendship, family, and Judaism.

Mark Samuels

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Mark Samuels on August 2, 2007, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Samuels discusses his childhood, love for music, his wife's death, the impact on his Jewish community involvement, evacuation from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, rebuilding his business, and his positive outlook for the future of the city.

Minna Shavitz

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Marcie Cohen Ferris interviewed Minna Shavitz on March 22, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, for the Weaving Women's Words series. Shavitz details her upbringing in the South, encountering antisemitism, her family dynamics, college life, marriage, owning a deli, and the challenges and joys of her personal and professional life.

Myron Goldberg

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Myron Goldberg on July 5, 2007, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Goldberg, a first-generation American from New Orleans, discusses his family history, involvement with Congregation Beth Israel, running a store, raising a family, experiencing Hurricane Katrina, and rebuilding his home and business.

Bess Fishman

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Elaine Eff interviewed Bess Fischman on May 30 and June 8, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words oral history project. Fishman shares memories of her childhood, family, Jewish observance, marriage, and involvement in Jewish organizations and the Zionist movement, being involved with the Beth T’filoh Sisterhood and visiting Israel.

Carolyn Blumenthal Danz

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Roz Bornstein interviewed Carolyn Danz on May 11 and May 16, 2001, in Seattle, Washington, as part of the Weaving Women’s Words project. Danz shares her family history, childhood experiences with volunteer work, a career as a businesswoman, single parenthood, involvement in Jewish and civic organizations, and her active life, including founding the Northwest Croquet Association.

Fiola Blum

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Elaine Eff interviewed Fiola Blum on August 20, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women’s Words Oral History Project. Fiola Blum reminisces on childhood memories, starting her realty company, her experiences as a Jewish woman in real estate, and reflects on her family background and Baltimore's Jewish communities.

Frieda Piepsch Sondland

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Roz Bornstein interviewed Frieda Sondland on May 1 and 17, 2001, in Mercer Island, Washington, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Frieda recounts her family's escape from Nazi Germany, their journey to South America, and their eventual settlement in Seattle, highlighting community involvement, and the challenges of parenting and aging.

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