Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com • Worcester Business Journal • 2 022 Economic Forecast 31 Top diversity, equity & inclusion stories in 2021 Cannabis regulators & local operators take up the fight for industry equity In June 2020, Worcester had five op- erating cannabis dispensaries, including both adult-use and medical options. A little over a year later, that number has more than doubled, with 12 cannabis retail shops now open for business. at growth has taken place alongside criticism from cannabis and equity ac- tivists who say the state's industry pushes out those the state's legalization program is expressly mandated to support: those from communities disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs. Inequalities in the industry persist, and large multistate operators continue to dominate the cannabis market, even in the face of several Massachusetts Can- nabis Control Commission programs de- signed to give certain groups of people a leg up in entering the industry, including those who are Black, African American, Hispanic, or Latino, children or spouses of someone with a drug offense on their record, or someone who has a drug offense on their own record. Aside from programs intended to help minorities and other groups enter the cannabis market across a variety of entry points, ranging from ownership to employee and vendor, the CCC requires each cannabis company to set diversity hiring goals during its licensing applica- tion process, which the companies then provide updates on during the license re- newal process. ese components of the application are called diversity plans, and the guidance for these plans was updated and expanded in August, in part because companies struggled with writing them. In tandem with concerns about eq- uitable participation, the legal canna- bis market has hardly stayed oriented around small and local businesses, with multistate operators comprising more than half of the current open dispensa- ries in the city of Worcester. One more dispensary, Cookies (formerly known as New Dia) is newly operating in part- nership with an eponymous national company, based in California, creating a hybrid situation. Although these challenges receive regular media attention – locally and be- yond – equity in the state's legal cannabis program remains a far-off goal, as CCC regulators tackle a backlog of applica- tions and structural economic inequities push smaller, local, and minority-owned players out of the market. Biotech's diversity problems require more resources Like many industries, the biophar- maceutical sector in Massachusetts is working to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion among its workforce, leader- ship, and supplier channels. Doing so requires tackling diver- sity from multiple angles, including on-ramping the workforce, providing areas for advancement for people from diverse backgrounds, and implementing accountability measures. A new report from the Massachu- setts Biotechnology Council released in November shows while significant progress has been made in some of these areas – like a 164% increase in women's representation on the state's biopharma- ceutical company boards since 2017 – the industry still has a lot of work le to do. "You have to look at it as; it's a long journey… It doesn't happen overnight and, honestly, there may not be a finish line," said Ross Marshall, MassBio's senior director of DEI advisory. e report was compiled from a sur- vey MassBio conducted between October 2020 and June 2021. Respondents were signatories on MassBio's Open Letter 2.0, e CEO Pledge for a More Equitable and Inclusive Life Sciences Industry, which was compiled in 2020. Of the 222 companies that signed the letter, 85 responded to the survey. Some 73% of respondents came from organizations with 100 or less full-time employees. While female representation on com- pany boards came in at 37% – a 164% in- crease from 2017, when MassBio released an initial report specifically focused on women in the industry – November's re- port saw no movement in the percentage of women companies reported in their C-suite. at figure was 24% in 2017, and remained the same in 2021. Laury Lucien (left) and Ulyssess Youngblood, owners of Worcester cannabis dispensary Major Bloom PHOTO | MATT WRIGHT W Build with Us. Grow with Us. gardnerma.com p 978.632.1780 • f 978.630.1767 • Chamber@gardnerma.com Why locate your business in Greater Gardner? Flexible and ready workforce More aordable residential market Excellence in healthcare and education Quality of life: attractions, dining, shopping, outdoor recreational settings Aordable commercial and industrial market rates Turnkey properties Pad-ready building sites Opportunity Zone availability Easy Route 2 Corridor highway access The Greater Gardner region of Northern Worcester County consists of the City of Gardner and 6 the surrounding towns of Ashburnham, Barre, Hubbardston, Templeton, Westminster, and Winchendon. Greater Gardner Chamber of Commerce Real Estate Loans Term Loans Lines of Credit Construction Loans Small Business Administration Loans Cash Management Deposit Products ONE - STOP SHOPPING WITH BAY STATE SAVINGS BANK. Real Estate Loans construction Loans Lines of credit sba loans cash management & deposit products business products & services

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