Business & Economics

Content type
Collection

Ilene Epstein

In 1979, Ilene Epstein brought a new style to the streets of Boston when she and her identical twin sister opened The Studio, a women’s clothing store that offered stylish clothing in a welcoming atmosphere.

Poppy King

After founding her first makeup empire, Poppy Industries, at age eighteen, Poppy King launched her successful Lipstick Queen brand in 2006, earning international praise.

Helena Rubinstein / Poppy King

Cosmetics Entrepreneurs

Building Businesses, Beautifully

Writing Home: A Letter from an Early American Jew

Learn about Jewish immigration and the development of the Jewish community in America through a 1790s letter, originally written in Yiddish by Rebecca Samuel to her parents in Hamburg, Germany, describing her life in Petersburg, Virginia.

Helen DeRoy

Helen Lowentritt DeRoy’s business savvy in the auto industry was matched only by her generosity as a philanthropist through the worst years of the Depression.

Chloe Coscarelli

As the first vegan chef to win a TV cooking competition, Chloe Coscarelli has helped vegan food gain more widespread acceptance.

Kira Radinsky

Computer scientist Kira Radinsky earned a reputation for predicting the future when she developed technology that could anticipate cholera outbreaks and student riots based on data in old newspapers.

Jazz Jennings

Through her YouTube channel and reality TV show, Jazz Jennings is working to increase public understanding and acceptance of transgender teens like herself.
Maya Franks at a DECA Competition

Shaking it up

Maya Franks

Shaking it up. I’ve never been a typical “shaking it up” type of person, per se. I’ve always been a more “nervously try to go with the flow and hope it ends well” type of gal. However, when I got that question, “How have you shaken things up in your community?”, not one experience came to mind. 

Jennifer Lawrence in "Joy"

The ‘Miracle Mop’ Can’t Wring Out Dated Stereotypes

Eliana Gayle-Schneider

Joy is a cute movie, to say the most. Jennifer Lawrence’s character, Joy Mangano, is a housewife who strives to become a businesswoman despite the men in her life advising her against it. On the surface, this is a powerful story about  a woman coming into her own; a working class woman in the late 80s who moves beyond her meager station in life to make a name for herself. 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The Feminist Force Awakens

Gabrielle Cantor

On December 17, I joined millions of people around the world in a line. Now this was no ordinary line. In front of me stood Chewbacca, and behind me several Stormtroopers waited patiently. This was the line to see the latest and possibly greatest movie in the Star Wars saga, The Force Awakens. That evening, I joined fans both young and old in delighting in the marvels of another world. I lost myself in the journey of Rey and Finn, cheering for their victories and crying at their defeats.

Woman With Tape Measure

A Tale Of Two Stores

Abby Richmond

Brandy’s clothes are appealing to girls like me who prefer a simple look. However, there’s one important thing that separates Brandy from the other clothing chains for teenage girls—their one-size policy. Yes, all of Brandy Melville’s clothes are only available in one, miniature, singular size. One size fits most is the company’s complacent statement regarding their sizing. 

Joani Blank / Alexandra Fine & Janet Lieberman-Lu

Feminist Sex Toy Inventors

Closing the Pleasure Gap

Joani Blank

Sex-positive activist Joani Blank created one of the first woman-friendly sex stores in America, Good Vibrations, as well as sex toys like the Butterfly vibrator.

Janet Lieberman-Lu

With her mastery of 3D printing, Janet Lieberman helped create the first successful hands-free couples’ vibrator in 2014.

Alexandra Fine

Using crowdfunding and cutting-edge technology, Alexandra Fine helped create the first successful hands-free couples’ vibrator in 2014 to overcome the difficulties women face in achieving orgasm during sex.

Carly Zakin

Carly Zakin teamed up with longtime friend and fellow journalist Danielle Weisberg to create theSkimm, a daily newsletter aimed at sparking the interest of millennials who often avoid traditional news sources.

Danielle Weisberg

Frustrated by friends who didn’t share her passion for the news, Danielle Weisberg joined forces with longtime friend Carly Zakin to create theSkimm, a digital newsletter for millennials.

Safra Catz

As president and then CEO of Oracle, one of the world’s largest software companies, Safra Catz has helped shape the present and future of the computer world.
Madame Alexander Doll Cropped

Barbies Are For Boys Too

Abby Richmond

Beatrice Alexander was a Jewish entrepreneur in the early 20th century. She was raised in New York’s Lower East Side in extreme poverty, but eventually became the founder of the widely successful Alexander Doll Company. 

Volunteer Hands

Social Entrepreneurship: When the Political Becomes Personal

Lisa Batya Feld

The Jewish Women’s Archive and the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York are joining together to honor JWFNY’s fourteen Isha Koach honorees for this year. Each of these social entrepreneurs were shaped by experiences where abstract social or environmental problems suddenly became very concrete.

Catherine Lieber Shimony

From American Jewish World Service to Global Goods Partners, Catherine Lieber Shimony has dedicated her career to international development, helping women across the globe develop the skills they need to better support their families and lead their communities.
Jean Nidetch circa 1965

Jean Nidetch, Diet Queen

Tara Metal

Every woman in my family has been on a diet for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories are of family parties: everyone surrounded by lovingly prepared dishes, saying “oh god, I shouldn’t eat this” and “I’m not eating carbs right now” as they piled their plates with lasagna and bread. That was the deal: diets weren’t really adhered to, but they were talked about incessantly.

Topics: Entrepreneurs, Food

Lillian Vernon

In 1987, Lillian Vernon took her mail-order company public, making it the first company founded by a woman and traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Frieda Caplan

Frieda Caplan’s specialty food company has helped introduce a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to American palates, from kiwis and Asian pears to spaghetti squash and habanero chilies.

Donate

Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women.

donate now

Get JWA in your inbox

Read the latest from JWA from your inbox.

sign up now