Though women’s labor shouldn’t be worth less than men, the gender wage gap indicates otherwise. The wage gap and other issues affecting women motivate organizations like #BossBabesATX to host events to help women feel supported in their professional lives.

CraftHER Market is a new bi-annual event hosted by #BossBabesATX for vendors, makers and consumers to come together in celebration of one another in their crafts and careers. #BossBabesATX, an event production agency and non-profit collective, hosts multiple events and festivals for people that identify as women to create a community for themselves.

“We want to do better for our community and put women on a platform that they haven’t been given the opportunity to be on,” said Leslie Lozano, #BossBabesATX’s Co-Founding Board Member and Arts/Workshop Coordinator. 

#BossBabesATX has invited over 90 women vendors and 11 panelists to their Spring event on Sunday, April 2nd, to sell, showcase and discuss their goods. Lozano said this market is special in comparison to others, as it gives opportunities for conversation that go beyond just what’s being sold.

“We wanted to make a space where people would want to hang out, and curate conversation that isn’t normally had,” Lozano said. “We value the crafts, but we also value the women who make them, so we wanted to make sure their voice is heard and to share their stories.”

Roshi Krautheim, a street artist, will be speaking for the panel “Making- A Form of Self Care,” and said she really appreciates the encouragement the event and organization nurtures.

“There’s finally a network of women to reach out to and be inspired by,” Krautheim said.

June Chee, art history and international relations and global studies sophomore, is #BossBabesATX’s Event Production Assistant. She said the opportunities to network have been beneficial not only for her but also the women around her. 

“The first #BossBabesATX event I ever went to was something that really changed my life,” Chee said. “I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew it was going to be incredible, and I quickly saw this is where people come and make connections and form communities.”

She said participating in #BossBabesATX has motivated her to band together with other women and fight for positive change.

“This is a direct change,” Chee said. “You get people together and say, ‘Hey we’re going to make a collective effort and identify ourselves as a community’ and then actually bring that to fruition. And then put that community effort towards something that can change the legislation or offer things to women who need something.”

Inspired by the effects of those direct changes, Krautheim said she urges younger generations of women like #BossBabesATX and those in attendance of CraftHER Market to continue to pave the way for female success.

“It’s beautiful to have this community that’s all about fostering and supporting a strong network between women that are being entrepreneurs, that are creating, that are really pushing the envelope in their different fields,” Krautheim said. “There are so many different avenues that women are really plowing through and paving the way right now, and to bring them all together in one space, in a creative space, I think that’s really beautiful to do that.”