Many employers are required to comply with equal employment opportunity regulations. However, some cannabis employers may not be aware that they’re not in compliance with their responsibilities. To push ourselves and others to be better and fight racism and prejudice in the hiring process, we’ve come up with a helpful guide.
Ensuring equal employment opportunity for all cannabis jobs is what we strive to do, but we can’t do it alone. According to a Harvard study, “white” sounding resumes attract twice as many interview requests. Furthermore, the black unemployment rate has been consistently twice as high as the white unemployment rate, according to the Center for American Progress. Without a doubt, creating equal employment opportunity and upward mobility is crucial for everyone to progress. So, take a look at this guide to find a few ways cannabis employers can ensure everyone gets an equal chance at all the cannabis jobs available.
Use Objective Criteria
Making decisions based on merit is how you can stay objective in choosing candidates for any cannabis jobs. In creating your selection criteria to see if the cannabis job candidate is ideal, be aware of any bias that may come into play. At the end of the day, you have to choose the candidate that is best for the company’s overall well-being. You can stick to these five pieces of criteria to assist you in making a decision:
- Education completed and relevancy to the position
- Type of work experience and level of roles/responsibilities
- Licenses and certifications relevant to cannabis position
- Proof of sought-after hard and soft skills
- Culture fit–make it about values and motivators to remain unbiased
Monitor for Indirect Discrimination
Discrimination is any kind of distinction or exclusion that impairs equal employment opportunity. The cannabis industry is young and progressive, but discrimination can come in many forms and can happen inadvertently. It’s best to monitor for indirect discrimination that may happen in the hiring process. We know the hiring process is a team effort, so everyone involved in filling an open job position at the company is responsible for monitoring for any direct or indirect discrimination. A survey at the end of the procedure for the interviewee can also help to ensure the process met equal employment opportunity standards. Here are the seven general grounds of discrimination:
- Race
- Color
- Sex
- Religion
- Political opinion
- Social origin
- Nationality
Create an Unbiased Hiring Process
According to Frank Dobin, a Harvard University Professor of Sociology, we are all biased, as stereotyping stems from our natural tendency to categorize everything. So, it’s crucial to take a look at your hiring policy and procedures to make sure you don’t accidentally exclude people with specific characteristics. Many times there could be unconscious bias in the hiring process. Racial and gender stereotyping begin to form during childhood, therefore learning about unconscious bias and ways to remedy it is essential. Here are some ways you can make the hiring process unbiased:
- Use a blind recruitment software like Pinpoint to gather the most relevant candidates
- Analyze the wording of job postings to remove adjectives associated with a particular gender or race
- Give work sample tests to judge the talent and skills of the candidate
- Create standardized interview questions that focus on unfolding the candidate’s expertise and skills
Promote Equal Pay
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 says that you shouldn’t base an employee’s paycheck on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Also, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 states that you must pay men and women equally for equal work. Although these acts were passed decades ago, pay equity is not a reality. A report from PayScale states a black man earns $0.87 for every dollar a white man earns, and women earn $0.81 for every dollar earned by men. The cannabis industry is still young, so we should actively promote equal pay early on, so it doesn’t grow into a bigger issue. Here is what our cannabis staffing firm suggests to use as criteria for wage differences:
- Quality of the employee’s work
- Education
- Experience
- Seniority level
Address Discrimination Complaints Immediately
The hiring process can be long and difficult, leaving plenty of room for error concerning overlooked bias or discrimination. So, if anyone of your employees catches discriminatory factors in the hiring process, address the situation right away. It can be anything from a poorly worded job description to inappropriate interview questions. Everyone should be encouraged to speak about possible discrimination in the hiring process, so certain aspects can be adjusted. Although it seems obvious, correcting the problem promptly cannot be stressed enough, as equal employment opportunity in the cannabis industry is pivotal to its growth.
Cannabis Staffing Done Right
We push for equal employment opportunity for cannabis jobs every day and encourage everyone in the industry to do so as well. So, if you’re looking for cannabis executives, direct-hire talent, or temporary employees, our cannabis staffing team can help fill the gaps at your company. And we’ll do so by presenting to you the candidates with the experience and skills that best suit your company goals.
