What Pride Month Means to Us and the Cannabis Industry
Celebrating Pride Month by sharing what pride means to LeafLinkers and the cannabis industry
One of LeafLink’s core values is to cultivate a better community, and for us that means empowering the diverse groups that operate within the cannabis industry, including the LGBTQIA+ community.
We recognize the historical connections between cannabis and social equity issues, the advocacy of early medical legalization led by LGBTQIA+ activists, and the necessary conversations surrounding them. These discussions are vital for change and as we continue to work with our partners, customers, and employees, we will continue to hold space for these voices as we strive for oneness.
But how do we truly get there?
Pride Means Advocating Through Representation
As conscious members of the cannabis community, we believe it is our responsibility to build a community, both internally and externally, that values progress, inclusion, and innovation and supports diverse and underrepresented groups. That means creating space for conversations around what representation looks like in cannabis, as well as putting these values into practice when it comes to hiring, building culture, and creating oneness. With that in mind, we sat down with Kate Caffrey, our Senior Customer Success Manager for Strategic Accounts to ask why representation is a driving factor for her at LeafLink.
“Representation is important to me because I am part of the LGBTQIA+ community and I’m motivated by seeing others like me succeed. I’m motivated to show others that there is space for the community within cannabis and specifically at LeafLink, that’s empowering for me. This year, I felt empowered to start an LGBTQIA+ employee resource group and get involved on the DEI [council] side of things at LeafLink, which will help keep our organization accountable.”
Pride Means Educating Through Activism
To ensure all voices are represented in LeafLink’s business-aligned initiatives, we’ve established our Diversity and Inclusion (DEI) Council made up of a board of LeafLink employees. Through our DEI Council and resource groups, LeafLink is working to provide more education around the overlap of the cannabis industry and LGBTQIA+ community, which in turn leads to building allyship and activism. We caught up with Colton Griffin, CEO of Flourish Software, one of LeafLink’s enterprise resource planning partners, to hear what he thinks activism means to the LGBTQIA+ cannabis community.
“Pride is all about activism. Even the celebration of achievements is an act of activism. Much has changed since the Stonewall Riots in 1969, but, similar to cannabis legalization, we still have a ways to go.”
Pride Means Defining Through Inclusion
Our mission is to build and define industry-standard technology to empower the cannabis industry’s growth and evolution – and that means keeping equity and inclusion top of mind. These values are seen and felt by our employees like Acée, our Dispatch Operations Analyst, Logistics, who began his LeafLink journey earlier this year.
“I most definitely feel like LeafLink can be a front runner in change and inclusion. I’ve been seeking an environment where I can feel fully included, and LeafLink is the first job where I feel just that. It’s great to be in a space with people who I can work with as a team, and at the same time be accepted as Black and gay. There’s always room for improvement, but this is a beautiful start to grow into something magical.”
We’re proud to amplify the voices of this community with our platform, partnerships, and employees. While there is still a lot of work to be done, we’re excited to be involved in building a better future for the cannabis industry and invite you to visit our Careers Page to build with us.
“I most definitely feel like LeafLink can be a front runner in change and inclusion. I’ve been seeking an environment where I can feel fully included, and LeafLink is the first job where I feel just that. It’s great to be in a space with people who I can work with as a team, and at the same time be accepted as Black and gay. There’s always room for improvement, but this is a beautiful start to grow into something magical.”
We’re proud to amplify the voices of this community with our platform, partnerships, and employees. While there is still a lot of work to be done, we’re excited to be involved in building a better future for the cannabis industry and invite you to visit our Careers Page to build with us.
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