This has undoubtedly sent shockwaves through the cannabis space with investors and industry giants likely taking note. Black cannabis leaders state that there has always been less funding and respect for them. “Politics has emboldened people to say what they really think,” Alexander-Davis said. “When people think about DEI hires, they think the standards are lower when they’re actually higher.”
In spite of its long history, DEI has been misunderstood and vilified through the lens of race. But diversity encompasses other components as well: ability, age, religious practices, sexuality, gender, or veteran status. As legal scholar and director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, Kenji Yoshino writes, “Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not.” Which is reflected in both a webinar from the MIT Sloan School of Management and an article by the Harvard Business Review, reinforcing that even in small doses, social equity in business is proven to drive a company’s ability for change—increasing profitability, income earnings, shareholders return, and revenue growth.
To some, diversity is viewed as a moment for invention that benefits both consumers and companies. This equates to better practices for growing healthier cannabis and thus safer products and options. For Nina Parks, cofounder of Supernova Women, a nonprofit empowering people of color to become self-sufficient shareholders in cannabis, that’s the spirit behind her other project, the Equity Trade Network. The group’s mission is to foster growth in the industry, through advocacy and working alongside lawmakers, regulators, and policy people charting a path toward financial success.
Rene Lima, a grower in Chicago who is set to inaugurate a cannabis education platform for Spanish-speaking seniors, spots a clear and promising pathway for DEI. “The entry for hemp-derived THC beverages has better potential for marginalized folks,” he says. “It’s a much more viable route nowadays.” He isn’t wrong: Cannabis drinks are one of the fastest growing and, frankly, fun categories in the industry as weed in general has outpaced alcohol consumption in the US for the first time ever.
As the evolution of diversity in cannabis continues to reflect wider cultural shifts, it leaves the industry at a crossroads. It can either follow other corporate leaders who are backpedaling on DEI, or continue on the path led by a pluralistic community of trailblazers who have always endured setbacks.
While emerging social equity efforts find its footing and alternative entry points into the industry present a way forward, will inclusion endure or will it be abandoned?
