MJBizMag October 2020 - 84

Diverse Workforce
Promoting a
any businesses are
being challenged to
advance racial diversity
and social equity in
their communities-and
cannabis companies
are no exception.
Diverse staffing should be part of the
marijuana industry's holistic approach
to corporate responsibility, experts say.
In that vein, cannabis businesses will
likely need to analyze and adjust their
current hiring practices to recruit and
retain talented individuals from unique
and underrepresented backgrounds.
Support from the top is key for
advancing internal diversity, said
Lisa Raja, chief of staff for Oakland,
California-based infused ingredient
producer Vertosa.
" If the founders, the CEO or top-tier
management is interested in diversity-if
that is part of their moral compass or
interests-that's where it starts, and that's
when you have the strongest chance for
(inclusion) to actually happen, " Raja told
Marijuana Business Magazine.
About 80% of Vertosa's 14 employees
are from diverse backgrounds, she
said. The issue is important to CEO
Ben Larson, according to Raja. Larson
and the Vertosa management team
have taken steps to promote a diverse
corporate culture such as recognizing
Juneteenth as a company holiday and
creating an employee listening session
during a weekly staff meeting after
George Floyd was killed during an
encounter with police in May.
In 2017, an analysis by Marijuana
Business Daily determined that 81%
of cannabis business owners and
founders were white. And a recent study
commissioned by Denver regulators
found that 75% of cannabis business
owners and 68% of industry employees
in that city were white.
GETTING STARTED
Businesses that want to add more
women, people of color and individuals
from marginalized backgrounds must
Lisa Raja
start by assessing why they care about
this initiative and what resources they
are willing to invest in recruiting and
retaining a more diverse staff, said Kelly
Perez, CEO and co-founder of Denverbased
KindColorado.
Perez and KindColorado President
and co-founder Courtney Mathis
consult with cannabis firms on how
to develop social-responsibility and
community-engagement plans. Through
their new membership organization,
Cannabis Doing Good, they hope
to develop a directory of cannabis
businesses owned by people of color.
Part of their work includes anti-bias and
anti-racism training and staff mapping
with company leaders.
" I don't know that you get to be a
diverse and inclusive company without
doing some of that uncomfortable work
of figuring out why do you even want to
go there, " Mathis said.
A lack of strategy could signal to
Diversity and inclusion are getting
renewed interest this year after
nationwide protests for criminal justice
reform. Adding employees from
underrepresented communities will
likely require businesses to reevaluate
current hiring practices. Here are
some considerations for how to recruit
and retain diverse talent:
* Assess why diversity is important to
your firm and company leadership.
Be prepared to invest time and
resources on this initiative.
* Understand the current
demographics of your business.
Ask staff to complete an optional
survey and use the collected
information to help inform your
diversity and inclusion strategies.
* Review the language included
in your job postings as well as
your branding materials to ensure
they are as welcoming to diverse
applicants as possible. Think
creatively about how to cast a
wider net for candidates.
* Develop a hiring committee,
scoring rubric and interview script
to try to reduce bias during the
interview and selection processes.
existing and potential employees
that the company is concerned
more about appearing diverse than
addressing broader equity problems.
Even well-intentioned leaders could
inadvertently cause offense without
some foundational knowledge of race
and gender issues.
For instance, the war on drugs and
gentrification are two issues linked
to the cannabis sector given that
zoning often favors locating cannabis
companies in neighborhoods most
impacted by the war on drugs.
SURVEY STAFF
Companies also must take stock of their
existing leaders, employees and vendors,
Mathis said.
" Whenever a business owner doesn't
know the demographics of their staff, it
actually tells us that they have not committed
to creating a more equitable workforce-whether
it's for people of color or
women or LGBTQIA folks, " she said.
Businesses can start by asking
their workforces to provide optional
demographic information. This outreach
84 Marijuana Business Magazine | October 2020
MJBizMag October 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MJBizMag October 2020
