It’s nothing new that the general business community has long been dominated by male executives. While women have continued to chip away at the gender gap for decades, fast forward to 2020, throw in a once-every-century pandemic and the progress seems all but gone. But, like the modern and evolving industry it is, cannabis businesses continue to lead the way at placing women at the forefront of the industry.
By the Numbers
According to Marijuana Business Daily, in 2018 the national average for female executives across all U.S. businesses sat at just 21 percent. That number grew to 29 percent in 2020, according to Catalyst. While this progress is a step in the right direction, there’s still work to be done. As a public relations and marketing agency, we know all too well the industry stats in our line of work. Female representation in the workforce is growing and oftentimes the majority, but it’s still dominated by male executives.
As an agency specializing in cannabis public relations and marketing, though CMW services many different emerging markets, there is one male-dominated industry we service that we’ve also seen the rise of female leadership – cannabis. As a part of the same Mrijuana Business Daily survey, the cannabis industry recorded as high as 36.8 percent of businesses with women in executive positions. Recognized as a forward-thinking industry, it’s no surprise that as the cannabis business landscape becomes more established, leaders will continue to further diversify their executive suite, offering a key opportunity for women in cannabis.
Putting Women in The Spotlight
At CMW Media, we are proud of the strong female executives that head some of our most established clients. Some have decades of experience under their belts, proving their value to male counterparts time and time again, while others are young movers and shakers in the cannabis industry known for their drive and determination.
Recently one of our public relations clients had the opportunity to share her experience as a woman who had to fight to get a seat in the boardroom with Green Entrepreneur. Nancy Diutch, CEO of Sera Labs, shares her unique perspective of navigating the gender disparities of business throughout her career – all with a bit of humor along the way.
We appreciate when our clients make it their mission to help those in need, like Lourdes Felix, CEO of BioCorRx Beat Addiction Recovery Program, who was just featured on the Woman of the Week podcast. She has worked tirelessly to expand BioCorRx’s reach, taking them from a California operation to a nationwide brand. She also launched the company’s UnCraveRx Weight Loss Program to help people improve their overall health and wellness with the medical assistance they need.
We also work with Narmin Jarrous, Chief Development Officer at Exclusive Brands LLC, a rising star in the cannabis industry. She made her way to the executive suite just a few years out of college when she started her career in medical sales. Now at the helm of the Exclusive Brand’s soon-to-be-launched Neno’s Naturals, she has worked collectively with CMW Media’s public relations and marketing teams to bring awareness to Exclusive’s recent store expansion and mission to provide quality cannabis products.
Leading the Way
As an agency specializing in cannabis public relations and marketing, among other emerging markets, we know the importance of supporting the progress of women in our industry. Highlighting some of our own, Cassandra Dowell and Kathryn Brown have played integral roles on CMW Media’s leadership team. Overseeing our public relations efforts, their unique backgrounds provide extensive experience in both journalism and traditional communications, helping place CMW in the forefront as one the top public relations firms in our city.
On this International Women’s Day, we are proud to have a public relations team that is predominantly female, and an equal representation company wide, that is paving the way for our clients to be seen and heard. Here’s to the women in leadership positions, making a difference, one day at a time.
