In the United States, only 57% of women participate in the labor force. 26% of people employed in computer and mathematical occupations are women. 70% of mothers with children under the age of 18 take part in some form of employment. On average, women earn less than men. Female minorities earn less than the Caucasian woman. I could go on, but what’s the point? We’ve all heard the rhetoric. Women in the American workforce are let down, right?
Wrong.
It was less than 100 years ago that women were finally granted the right to vote. Prior to that, we were baby makers. An extra pair of hands to help out around the house. A pretty thing to look at. All that changed on August 18th, 1920, when we won the right to vote. Women are not the technological industry; we cannot press a few buttons, write some code, and expect equality. Please don’t let this make you angry. Instead, let it inspire you to work for what you deserve.
In previous articles, I have discussed my research in the field of sociological theory, and how it impacts on women in America. Here is a rough breakdown of my findings:
- Women are best served in the workplace when they dress in a feminine way, wear perfume, and generally act like the male perception of women
- Flirting with your boss is not anti-female, it’s how the system works
- Companies generally prefer female leaders, but these leaders must be seen as a matriarch, not a boss
- Men in positions of power don’t want you to be in the Boy’s Club. They want you to be Boy’s Club adjacent
- Acting like one of the lads is a one-way ticket to a stagnant position in a company operated by men
Dark, isn’t it? Tough. It’s reality. In fact, it’s a reality I’m living now. Some of us know how to play the system, and therefore are rewarded with positions of power. Others attempt to rise up against the norm, and are branded Nasty Women. The kind who don’t win Presidential elections.
However, we were granted the right to vote. What that means for the women of 2016 is that, in the state of California, a whole new industry has opened up to the women who want to be self employed.
Can you guess what it is yet, or are you too stoned?
Marijuana is a $25 billion dollar industry in California alone. Everyone has witnessed the beneficial impacts legalization has had in Colorado, and so the Nasty Women of California should be gearing up for what might be a one-way ticket to equal pay, and a monopoly on one of the most lucrative industries in the world.
Somewhat comparable to the original tech industry start-ups, the cannabis industry is in its dawning stages of global takeover. It is already as big as the coffee industry. So what are we waiting for?
I have long been an advocate of turning black market dealers into legitimate business owners. There are several reasons as to why I have supported this move, but only one that is of relevance to this article. Women.
Cannabis has always been a big subject in my life. It was what I dedicated my undergraduate Bachelors degree to – finishing in three years with a dissertation into the sociological and spatial aspects of weed – and it is something I have continuously written about, researched, and publicized. That’s why I spent the last weekend learning first-hand about the women’s movement in marijuana.
It started with a joke: Justin Bieber and P Diddy walk into a dispensary.
It’s after hours and to the average individual, this dispensary is closed for the night. Diddy and Biebs are taken to the back of the store where they subsequently purchase the entirety of a strain named True OG.
True OG is an indica strain, native to southern California. OG does not mean “Original Gangster” in this context. Instead, it means ocean grown. On Leafly, True OG has a rating of 4.5 from 247 reviews. However, quantitative data is often skewed, and will especially be in these circumstances. With a mellow high that guarantees a great night’s sleep, and almost immediate relief from muscle ache, True OG users are less than likely to be able to rate this strain during use. It is the de-stress strain, used for pain, insomnia, headaches, and depression. Sure, you might get a chronic dry mouth, but the effects of this strain are world renowned.
Bieber and P Diddy clean out this particular dispensary of their True OG. The owners know to keep it behind especially for this type of clientèle. Yet, it is not the impeccable effects and celebrity status of True OG that make it relevant to this article. What impresses me about True OG is that it is only successfully grown by one person in Los Angeles, and she’s a single white female with the greenest fingers.
Here is where I make my prediction for what the next five years look like in the marijuana industry.
- Women will become leaders-surpassing men in this one industry that has always been more female orientated: gardening
- The likes of Women Grow, and other female-orientated cannabis groups and companies will completely change the rhetoric on weed
- This rhetoric will encompass not just the medical aspects, but the personal aspects of smoking
- The stay-at-home Stepford wife will give up on the Xanax, and other chemical pills, and move into smoking and using marijuana
- With the re-emergence of manufacturing promised to us by Trump, the marijuana industry will become the new home of low-income mothers and business orientated Nasty Women looking to make their way in the world
Oh, and I intend to be one of those women championing the movement every step of the way.
We’re all in this together, ladies!
Kay Smythe, The British Bitch in America.
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