The president of an Ontario cannabis company is making headlines for saying she has made a firm commitment to always employ more women than men.
Jeannette VanderMarel is the co-founder of The Green Organic Dutchman and president of Good & Green.
She told 630 CHED’s Ryan Jespersen that the lack of women in executive roles in the cannabis industry is what gave her the conviction to have this kind of gender balance in her corporate structure.
“There’s a lot of women working, unfortunately, in the grey and black markets, but once it moves into the corporate world it just seems that there’s a great lack of us.”
She clarified she has nothing against men but that there needs to be a balance.
“I think that women in general — when I see a group of women versus a group of men working together — I guess one of the things that I see is men sometimes are concerned about their roles or their obligations. Whereas women just get the job done, it doesn’t matter whose job it is or whether it’s beneath your role or your title, we all strive and collaborate to get the job done.”
VanderMarel said her lead grower and quality assurance manager are both women and she said she certainly has a preference for hiring women but would also like to hire more ethnic and cultural diverse members for her team.
She defended her hiring practices and said they aren’t gender discriminatory; she always hires the best candidates and they happen to be women.
“It’s as simple as that. I also think I’m very fortunate— there’s been a lot of women that have been bypassed in the corporate world, or in their place of employment, for men.
“There’s some incredibly qualified women who are looking to advance their careers in leadership or management and never been given the opportunity. So I have a huge pool to draw from.”
VanderMarel said 75 per cent of her directorial team consists of women.