I was recently on a call with a large consumer data company (I won't name any names) and we were reviewing statistics of cannabis and CBD consumer behavior. When I asked the person on the call why they felt the data consistently showed CBD use in consumers over-indexing in the caucasian demographic, their response was "I guess CBD is just a white people thing."
As a woman of color, I know this statement could not be further from the truth. I am a daily CBD/cannabis user and it has changed my life for the better - mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
The terms diversity, equity, and inclusion are often used interchangeably, but they have important distinctions. Diversity is WHAT makes us all beautifully different and unique: age, race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, etc. Equity is defined as being fair and impartial, but also importantly means OWNERSHIP, something lacking in the cannabis industry. Inclusion is an action - it is the act of being included within a group or structure. Inclusion is diversity in action.
Inclusive Marketing
So what is inclusive marketing? Salesforce has a great definition of inclusive marketing:
"We define inclusive marketing as creating content that truly reflects the diverse communities that our companies serve. It means that we are elevating diverse voices and role models, decreasing cultural bias, and leading positive social change through thoughtful and respectful content.”
A very important key to this definition is that inclusive marketing reflects the world as it truly looks. What does this mean? Let's take a look at the buying power of communities that are often overlooked and marginalized. Buying power is defined as the total personal income that is available, after taxes, for spending.
US Buying Power (2019)
Source: catalyst.org
Women: $6.4 Trillion
Latinx: $1.7 Trillion
LGBTQ+: $1 Trillion
Black: $1.4 Trillion
Asian: $1.2 Trillion
The key takeaway here? Women and underrepresented populations have enormous influence as consumers.
Why Inclusive Marketing in Cannabis?
Not only does more inclusive marketing give cannabis brands the opportunity to capture a piece of those trillions of dollars being left on the table from overlooked communities, more importantly, cannabis businesses have a social responsibility to give back to the communities who have been disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs.
If you are profiting off of the legal cannabis industry, while people are still sitting in the prison system or trapped in the post-incarceration probation system for cannabis crimes, you have a responsibility to right the wrongs of the past. We are seeing this impact in so many areas of our society: addiction, incarceration rates, police brutality, access to healthcare, unemployment rates, and the ongoing stigma attached to cannabis use and communities of color.
Intersectionality
All of this leads to an impact on the sometimes invisible struggle of mental health that impact marginalized communities, many of whom are experiencing multiple types of oppression, which is called intersectionality. This theory was coined over 30 years ago by Kimberlé Crenshaw, an American lawyer, civil rights advocate, philosopher, and a leading scholar of critical race theory. It is defined as "the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage”. Intersectionality is the acknowledgement that everyone has their own unique experiences of discrimination and oppression and we must consider everything and anything that can marginalize people – gender, race, class, sexual orientation, physical ability, etc.
What does this have to do with cannabis? The cannabis industry has the unique opportunity to acknowledge and bring healing to those who experience multiple types of social oppression. If only we were more inclusive in our marketing of these amazing, life-changing products. The cannabis industry is a place where everyone should feel safe, and welcome.
So what does DEI look like in the cannabis industry?
Diversity: A diverse industry benefits local communities, business owners and consumers.
Equity: More representation of women and minorities in leadership roles (founders, owners, CEOs, board members, investors, decision makers).
Inclusion: End years of stigmas, stereotypes, and create an environment where everyone feels welcome.
Our strength lies in our differences, not in our similarities.
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