Women are increasingly closing the gender gap in the swiftly flourishing medical cannabis industry. Many are finding their path to the industry through policy work, marketing, cultivation or for medical reasons. As the business of medical marijuana continues to expand, the number of positions held by women can be expected to reflect this.
According to a survey conducted by Marijuana Business Daily, women are well-represented in various areas of the medical cannabis trade. Ladies hold 63 percent of high-level posts and 48 percent of senior jobs in process and product manufacturing.
They all share a common interest in shedding the stigma of medical cannabis use and are working in a number of positions to make that happen. The growing trend of industry-related groups has also been on the rise.
In 2014, Women Grow, a professional marijuana women’s networking group, was established with a group of 70 female professionals. The group has grown to more than 1,000 women across the country with 30 chapters.
Mia Di Stefano manages social media for HealthMJ, an organization which advocates for and educates cancer patients about the benefits of medical cannabis. Through HealthMJ, she became involved with the New York City chapter of Women Grow, where she began managing sponsors and partnership for networking events. After serving as co-chair since June 2016, she now serves as chair.
“I helped care for my father who had multiple myeloma (a type of blood cell cancer) until he died in 2003, and it was clear to me that cannabis could have treated many of the resulting ailments – severe joint pain, nausea, feeding tubes, acute depression or a least greatly reduced the amount of pills he was on.”
As the industry has grown over the last 2 years, so has Mia’s involvement in cannabis. She now consults for cannabis startups on digital strategy – currently using the company name High Growth NYC.
“I’m grateful to have found a company whose mission is so meaningful to me. We are here to help patients navigate what medical marijuana means for them!”
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