PHOENIX — Research shows the pandemic dealt a loss when it comes to closing the gender pay gap. For minority women the disparity is worse. And that's something that just didn't sit right with Valley entrepreneur Stephanie Vasquez. She owns and runs Fair Trade Café in downtown Phoenix.
She thought it would be a one and done. But the response was so huge they continued the pop-up market and eventually came the nonprofit Empowering Latina Leaders in Arizona, or E.L.L.A. Vasquez wasn’t done. She wanted to help the vendors do more. That’s how Amor Collective in Peoria, AZ came to be. And that community and mentorship means a lot to owners like Rose Adams, who runs jewelry boutique Mod & Co. She tells 12News she always wanted to be her own boss.
Getting her dream off the ground was tough in the beginning. Ramirez said even close family couldn't understand it. But that didn’t stop her.