Women's History Month stretches across the globe Friday with countries recognizing International Women's Day.
The campaign theme for 2024 is "Inspire inclusion".
"This year's campaign theme underscores the crucial role of inclusion in achieving gender equality. It calls for action to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and create environments where all women are valued and respected. Inspire Inclusion encourages everyone to recognize the unique perspectives and contributions of women from all walks of life, including those from marginalized communities," is the message on the International Women's Day website.
Two entrepreneurs in Fort Worth amplify that theme in a video that unites voices and celebrates what happens when women work together.
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Mia Moss, owner of the award-winning Black Coffee in east Fort Worth, and Katrina Carpenter, owner of Carpenter's Cafe and Catering in the near southside, discovered the value of collaboration when they each opened businesses around the same time in 2019.
Three years later, International Women's Day in 2022 inspired them to lift other female entrepreneurs. They debuted Watch Women Werk that year and invited women to join them in a market-type setting where others could see the goods and services they offered.
Now in 2024, the third annual Watch Women Werk International Women's Day event will showcase the busineesses of almost three dozen vendors. It comes with a message for all women: "Hey, sis. We see you."
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"Not every woman is seen or feels seen. And that's the purpose of this. Sis, we see you and watch how we werk together and get it done. Ooh, that just gave me chills," Carpenter said as she talked about a video produced for the event.
"Hey, sis. Yes, you the incredible force of nature who never seems to catch a break. It's time to shine bright like the star. You are no matter where you've been or where you're going. You're right where you belong. You, you, my sister are a powerhouse," are some of the words in what Carpenter describes as a love letter to her sister.
Local filmmaker Dominque Anderson at Blissful Sky Studio produced the video and Visit Fort Worth jumped in to sponsor it.
Carpenter and Moss invited women of all ages, ethnicities, and professions to be in the two-minute video intended to inspire inclusion and offer validation to every woman who may feel alone.
One of the women in the video is Christene C. Moss. She was first elected to represent District 3 of the Fort Worth ISD In 199 and went on to become the first female African-American board president.
Moss' lines, "Late nights, early mornings you do it all and you do it with grace. There are days when it feels like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. But I want you to know that your efforts don't go unnoticed," were especially meaningful to her daughter-in-law.
"You may be married. There are so many different layers and women feel like they have to do it all. So, when she put that in there about the world being on your shoulders and feeling like you have to do it all and then saying that it doesn't go unnoticed, that means so much," Mia Moss said.
For Carpenter, hearing and seeing women voice the lines she wrote such as "It's okay to pause to take a breath," were messages she, too, needed.
"That was a reminder to me that I am doing all the things and to be reminded, it's okay to pause and take a breath then Mia takes a breath, I take that breath right there with her," Carpenter said. "It's impactful for me, too. Sometimes you have to encourage yourself."
Experience, though, has taught Carpenter and Moss it's easier when women unite, and they invite others to join them in empowering, inspiring, and paving the way for a more inclusive future working together.
"Watch us work. Watch us work together and get it done. That's the beauty of collaboration," Carpenter said.
Almost three dozen women-owned businesses will take part in the third annual Watch Women Werk International Women's Day event is Friday, March 8, from noon to 5 p.m. at Black Coffee, 1417 Vaughan Blvd. in Fort Worth.
