Business & Economics

Illustrations of Women Outlined with Flowers in Shades of Green, Blue, and White

April 25, 2022

My Journey with "Pretty Privilege" and Work Toward Reclaiming My Own Image

Sofia Isaias-Day

Let's talk about pretty privilege.

Topics: Feminism, Fashion and Beauty, Advertising and Marketing

Collage with Three Women in Underwear; Background of Squares overlayed with underwear

July 26, 2021

Commercial Femininity: A Jewish Reckoning with Victoria's Secret's Legacy

Goldi Lieberperson

Growing up, Victoria's Secret models represented my default (and only) view of femininity and what it means to be an adult woman.

Topics: Fashion and Beauty, Advertising and Marketing, Jewish Law

Abby Joseph Cohen

A leading voice in the United States investment banking and finance industry, Abby Joseph Cohen worked in the Goldman Sachs investment research division for over three decades. She rose to prominence in the 1990s with her accurate predictions of a prolonged economic expanding and durable bull market and has remained one of the top names in the investment industry.

Janet Yellen

In 2021, American economic Janet Yellen was the first woman to lead the United States Department of the Treasury. In 2014, she had become the first woman to chair the United States Federal Reserve Board, one of the most powerful banks in the world.

Ginevra Blanis

Ginevra Blanis was a late sixteenth-century silk manufacturer of the Florentine ghetto and Siena. She left her mark as a founder of the young community with her philanthropy and in the public communication of what she considered Jewish values in the provisions of her will.

Niki Russ Federman

Niki Russ Federman is the fourth-generation co-owner of Russ & Daughters, the iconic appetizing shop founded in 1914 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan by her great-grandfather, Joel Russ. Known globally for its bagels, lox, babkas, and other Ashkenazi Jewish food delicacies, Russ & Daughters is believed to be the first business in America to include daughters in the name. As the fourth generation to own Russ & Daughters, Russ Federman has overseen its expansion while retaining an authentic legacy of Jewish food.

Marlyn Wescoff and Ruth Lichterman working on ENIAC

Jewish Women in Computer Science

From hardware to software, from developing new programming languages to revolutionizing applications, Jewish women have been part of significant projects on the cutting edge of computing in the United States.

Sally Gottesman

Sally Gottesman, born 1962 in New Jersey and residing in New York, is a non-profit entrepreneur whose leadership and philanthropy have had a major impact on the Jewish feminist and justice landscape.

A woodcut of a crowd of people burning alive, with another about to throw more wood on the fire

Pulcellina of Blois

Pulcellina was a prominent and powerful Jewish moneylender in twelfth-century Blois. In 1171, she was burned at the stake with mother than 30 other Jews on the false accusation of murdering a Christian boy.

Beatrice Alexander Examining the Queen Elizabeth II Doll from the Coronation Set, 1953

March 16, 2020

Channeling Madame Alexander's Philanthropic Charge

Dahlia Soussan

Our lives don’t take place in the confined utopia of a dollhouse, thus we mustn't focus on remote needs in lieu of those right here.

Topics: Entrepreneurs, Philanthropy

Rachel Sumekh

Turning dining hall dollars into food for the hungry, Rachel Sumekh has empowered college students to address food insecurity in their communities and has shined a light on hunger on university campuses.

January 4, 2018

Finding Strength From Our Foremothers

Sheryl Sandberg

Like many Americans, I owe an enormous debt to my ancestors who traveled here in search of a better life. Their courage created my family’s future. And in particular, I feel a special bond to the long line of women, stretching back generations, whose boldness and sacrifices made my life possible.

Topics: Feminism, Entrepreneurs, Jewish History, Non-Fiction

photograph of a woman with blond hair in a tan suit

Judith Rodin

In 1994 Judith Seitz Rodin became the first permanent woman president of an Ivy League school when she took the helm of the University of Pennsylvania.

Suze Orman

Susan Lynn “Suze” Orman has made a career of advising people to take more direct control of their finances.

Angelica Berrie

A lifelong philanthropist, Angelica Berrie has helped transform the world by funding causes ranging from religious tolerance to nanotechnology.

June 28, 2017

Support the Millionaire Tax: No Ifs, Ands, or Bakers

Katy Ronkin

I am writing you this letter to urge you to support the “Millionaire Tax” that was recently passed by the state legislature. By supporting this tax, you would show the people of Massachusetts that you are committed to ending income inequality in our state, and that you believe that the wealthiest among us should pay their fair share.

Topics: Education, Economics

June 23, 2017

Tuition-Free College: Good for Students and Good for Massachusetts

Lili Klayman

My name is Lili Klayman, and I am a junior at Mansfield High School. I am writing to you in the hopes that you and your administration will consider implementing tuition-free college for students in Massachusetts who struggle to pay for college. Many of my fellow students are unable to attend college due to their socioeconomic status; this is simply unfair, and prohibits promising students from reaching their full potential, and contributing all they can to society.

Topics: Schools, Economics, Social Policy

June 7, 2017

The Safe Communities Act: Empathetic Immigration Reform

Molly Pifko

I’m writing to urge your support of the Safe Communities Act, a bill that would ensure that Massachusetts resources are not used to support discriminatory and needlessly harsh deportation policies against immigrants in our state.

Topics: Economics, Immigration, Social Policy

February 28, 2017

King Kylie’s Kloset

Eden Olsberg

There’s nothing wrong with making a lot of money. Honestly, I admire Jenner and her family for building up their empire from scratch, and becoming a modern-day royal family. And, as Kylie is only about two years older than me, I can only dream of what it would be like to be so successful at such a young age. However, I think what shows a lot about a person’s character is how they use their money.

Topics: Fashion and Beauty, Television, Entrepreneurs

January 9, 2017

A New Love with ThirdLove: How One Jewish Woman is Taking on the Sexist Lingerie Industry

Emily Cataneo

Oh, bras. Is there any garment more ubiquitous and more controversial to the modern Western feminist? We’ve all spent too much money on a bra that fell apart too soon; we’ve all chafed under uncomfortable underwire or too-tight straps; we’ve all wrestled with the question of whether to wear a bra at all.

Topics: Entrepreneurs

December 28, 2016

Alive with Pleasure and Passion: Lessons from a vibrator entrepreneur

Aliza Abusch-Magder

You may be uncomfortable reading a blog post about a vibrator inventor written by a sixteen-year-old, but bear with me. I have a great deal of admiration for Alexandra Fine, who graduated Columbia with an advanced degree in Human Psychology, and started a successful business at the age of twenty-six.