Racial and gender inequalities in the cannabis industry

Although minorities are more represented in the cannabis industry than in other industries, inequalities are still significant and reflect a global problem.

The place of women and minorities in the cannabis industry

A report from Marijuana Business Daily, published last year, examines this issue.

Compared to a similar survey published in 2015, the report estimates that the percentage of women in management positions in the cannabis industry has fallen by 91% over the past two years. It was estimated at 36% and now accounts for only 26.91% of management positions in the industry. This percentage is gradually approaching the percentage of women in management across all sectors of the national industry, which stands at 23.1%. However, it varies by specialty. The auxiliary services sector is relatively gender-balanced; however, in investment firms, women account for only 10% of positions, which raises questions about their access to capital—a factor essential for integration into an increasingly mature market.

Ethnic minorities are also better represented in the cannabis industry than in other industries. They hold a total of 17% executive positions, compared to 13% in the national industry, and are predominantly found in the wholesale cultivation sector. Often, these are not private entrepreneurs but medical cannabis producers who grow for dispensaries. In California, wholesale cultivation is permitted, and due to the state’s ethnic diversity, minorities are better represented.

Advocates for racial diversity in the cannabis industry are mobilizing and attempting to influence state policies across the United States, particularly in states that have recently entered the market and where emergency measures are still being developed. The figures nevertheless show a wide disparity among communities: whites account for 81.3% of entrepreneurs, Hispanics for 5.71%, African Americans for 4.31%, and Asians for 2.41%.

Inequalities are felt not only in the quantity of positions held, but also in their quality: women and minorities are more inclined to be employees than entrepreneurs. This observation reveals unequal access to investment capital. Furthermore, large companies with significant capital obtain licenses more easily, and they destroy or absorb smaller companies that had entered the market earlier and were more likely to make space for women and minorities. Indeed, it appears that the booming legal cannabis market has attracted members of the traditional economy, whose profile is much less diverse, as they are predominantly white men. Thus, the gendered and socially unequal structure of the traditional economy seems to be gradually reproducing itself in the cannabis industry.

Certain regulations still promote this market standardization: small businesses that are already open become illegal and struggle to obtain licenses; some states require a clean criminal record, thus closing the door to small street dealers who might want to transition into the legal industry.

In Massachusetts, the state is seeking to ensure equal access to the cannabis industry.

Massachusetts lawmakers have made reducing gender and racial inequality in the nascent industry their goal. A bill named Act to Ensure Safe Access to Marijuana looks into the matter; it includes measures such as:

• The expungement of criminal records before legalization is effective
• The absence of excessive fees that would favor large companies
• A government program aimed at «providing technical assistance, waiving fees, and offering other benefits to communities disproportionately harmed by cannabis prohibition.»
• The Cannabis Control Commission announced that it wants to «create a variety of license types that would include microbusinesses and craft cooperatives.»

The text also guarantees the Commission's right to conduct an annual review of minority, women, and veteran participation in the industry. Discrimination will be combated in access to licenses and in the design of laws.