CROO releases 2023 diversity survey results
The Cannabis Regulation Oversight Officer (CROO) released last week the results for its third diversity survey that assesses the “extent of diversity in the medical and adult use cannabis industry and methods for reducing or eliminating any identified barriers to entry, including access to capital.” The most recent survey was conducted December 2022 to August 2023. The report touts that diversity has increased among cannabis companies in Illinois since the first study in 2020, but the bulk of that increase for many categories came during the 2021 study. The first survey was November 2020 to April 2021, the second from December 2021 to August 2022. A PDF summarizing all the results for this latest survey can be found here and here. According to CROO, key results and changes from 2020 to 2023 include (context from the 2021 study added in parentheses by Illinois News Joint):
Diversity Among Majority-Owned Firms In Illinois
- 0% to 27% of companies report majority equity by Black owners: majority meaning 51% or more of the equity (this was a 2% increase from the 2021 study)
- 0% to 5% of companies report majority equity by Latino, Latina, or Hispanic owners (this was the same 5% as recorded in the 2021 study)
- From 0% to 3% of companies report majority equity by Asian owners (which was a 1% increase as recorded in the 2021 study)
- From 0% to 14% of companies report majority equity by a group of people identifying as non-White: a coalition where no one race or ethnicity holds the majority (which was the same 14% as recorded in the 2021 study)
- From 3% to 16% of companies report majority equity by women owners (which was a 4% increase since the 2021 report)
- (White Majority-Owned Firms increased from 26% in 2021 to 31% in 2023)
Diversity On Boards Of Directors
- From 6% to 20% of directors are Black people (a 5% increase since the 2021 study)
- From 2% to 5% of directors are Latino, Latina, or Hispanic people (a 1% increase since the 2021 study)
- From 17% to 22% of directors on boards are women (Women Boards of Directors increased from 20% in 2021 to 22% in 2023)
- From 1% to 6% of directors are Asian people (a 3% increase since the 2021 study)
- (Men Boards of Directors increased from 67% in 2021 to 72% in 2023)
- (White Boards of Directors increased from 57% in the 2021 to 65% in 2023)
In The C-Suite Of Cannabis Businesses
- From 2% to 6% of executives are Asian people (a 2% increase since the 2021 study)
- From 1% to 19% of executives are Black people (a 3% increase since the 2021 study)
- There has been no change (5%) of Latino, Latina, or Hispanic executives
- (Middle East/North African executives decreased from 4% in 2021 to 2% in 2023)
- There has been no change, roughly 26%, of women executive (which was a decrease of 8% since the 2021 report)
- (Men executives started at 71% in 2020, then decreased to 57% in 2021, before increasing back to 71% in 2023)
Diversity Among Frontline Cannabis Employees
- From 5% to 11% are Latino, Latina, or Hispanic employees (which was a 2% decrease from 13% in the 2021 study)
- From 1% to 2% are Asian employees (which was the same 2% as recorded in the 2021 study)
- (Women frontline employees decreased from 48% in 2021 to 37% in 2023)
- (Men frontline employees decreased from 44% in 2021 to 37% in 2023)
- (Nonbinary frontline employees increased from 1% in 2020 to 4% in 2021 and in 2023)
Employees
- 16% identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community (a 3% increase since the 2021 study)
- (Veteran employees decreased from 4% in 2021 to 3% in 2023)
- (Transgender employees increases from 0% in 2020, to 1% in 2021, to 2% in 2023)
CROO sent two separate surveys in May 2023: one for the owners of cannabis companies and one for the employees of the cannabis industry. The survey was sent to every company that operates a cannabis license (or multiple licenses), and every individual who is on record as having a cannabis employee license. Answers were received through October 2023, with most provided before August 2023. The Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act mandates CROO survey the Illinois cannabis industry annually to assess the diversity of the owners and employees in the industry, as well as the contractors/subcontractors working with the industry.
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