Kishor was founded as the Haredi Women Professionals Network in 2008 to provide a monthly forum for members meet, brainstorm, and share support with other women who share the same challenges and interests. Kishor currently has 180 members and welcomes new women each month.

Since September 2009, Kishor has expanded its meetups to include professional presentations on subjects of career and personal interest that support our mission of “Successfully building homes and careers leSheim Shamayim”. Presentations have been well-received, providing innovative thinking, education and practical tips for business and personal growth.

In 2010, Kishor added quarterly evening workshops and launched its annual conference, a full-day educational and networking symposium. The Social Media Conference brought focused, professional knowledge and hands-on workshops to 100 women. Feedback was overwhelming positive from participants, presenters and sponsors, and the event catapulted Kishor into the public awareness as a nexus for knowledge and networking for religious women.

In addition, a strong PR “buzz” in print media (three-quarters of the front page of the Jerusalem Post Business Section; seven pages in Mishpacha magazine) and social media (Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook) brought further attention to the issues and solutions facing professionals in general and Orthodox professionals in particular. Recordings of the 2010 Social Media Conference are available for download at the Kishor network website.

As frum women professionals, there are important challenges in our lives that our friends and neighbors just may not relate to. Linking up with other frum women — even if they work in different fields — offers an opportunity to discuss these issues, gaining strength and knowledge in the process. By bringing women from a broad range of fields together, we have been the hatching ground of new initiatives across industries; the place where women discover new market opportunities, and new experts to turn to.