Women make up just over fifty percent of the total US population, but only 37 percent of the US entrepreneurial population. In the CBD industry, that ratio drops to around 27 percent. CBD was originally largely marketed to women, by women, but the recent boom in the CBD market has recalibrated the industry to become male dominated, much like the majority of new business ventures.
Where Are the Women?
This lack of women in the CBD market leaves us looking for answers and approaches that have so far been ignored. Try out this experiment: Pull up a Google search and enter “CBD gummies for,” then see what the first few auto-suggestions are. Did “women” or any women’s health issue at all come up for you? You likely had “cats,” “dogs,” or “children,” come up as an automatic suggestion before anything related to women.
The best CBD gummies for women help relieve symptoms related to menstruation, menopause, endometriosis, and PCOS, among other things. Yet we are not simply men with different reproductive parts. We have our own unique health concerns that may or may not have anything to do with breasts or ovaries. There are very few companies out there spreading the information that women need in order to make educated decisions about the use of CBD and hemp oil for their wellbeing, and we need more women to help encourage the market.
Health and wellness is an area where our voices are vastly ignored. The recent revelation that medical science has always focused on the male body as the norm, is all the evidence we need to demonstrate why it is so important to have female representation. Everywhere.
Women metabolize medications differently than men, heart attack symptoms are dangerously misrepresented in women, the anatomy of our joints is different from men’s, and most people are surprised to find out that women are more likely than men to develop musculoskeletal diseases and Alzheimer’s disease.
A Chance to Be Heard
Where the healthcare industry has failed us, we have the opportunity to make up for it in the wellness industry. CBD has broad health implications that could empower women to have more control over their own health outcomes. Not that CBD gummies are a replacement for healthcare. We definitely need to fight to fix that too. But a female-dominated wellness market could help us direct our voices toward change.
Think about it. The FDA is currently in charge of regulating all drugs approved for use in the United States. They are monitoring the CBD situation, and waiting for more research to come in before they make any final determinations about what, exactly CBD will be approved for. If this research we are waiting on looks anything like historical research, it will be focused on men’s health related to CBD. The only time it will focus on women’s health will be if it has something to do with our reproductive systems.
When the research finally does come in, the people heading up the FDA make decisions about approval. The current head of the FDA is Stephen Hahn, and most of the administration is male. As a matter of fact, the head of every agency under the umbrella of the Department of Health and Human Services is a man. Not that there is anything wrong with men having the authority to make decisions, however, there is almost no female representation in the federal branch of healthcare oversight. If we cannot have a voice in the government, we at least need a voice in the industry set to change the way we see healthcare forever: CBD.
Women Helping Women
Fortunately, women are moving in a stronger force than ever before, to empower women in business. The cannabis industry is ripe for female leadership, and there are a few women with powerful voices working to bring the balance back.
The beautiful thing about having a strong network of women in any industry, is that we look out for each other, doing our best to lift each other up and lighting torches along the path to success. If you are serious about getting started in the CBD gummy market, check out the following resources:
- Plant and Prosper is a women-based team of branding advisors specializing in the cannabis industry.
- The Initiative is a business bootcamp and funding resource for female-founded cannabis businesses.
- Cannaclusive is a group of advisors and marketers focused on bringing a diverse set of voices into the cannabis industry.
- Humble Bloom advocates for an “equitable and regenerative industry.”
- Global Treehouse Ventures is focused on providing funding for women and minorities in cannabis-based industries.
- Women Grow is the largest professional networking organization in the cannabis industry.
Regardless of whether you are interested in creating the best CBD gummies business in the industry, or you just want to quietly support the market and eat your CBD gummies in peace, this list is at least a slight reassurance that there are some seriously successful women advocating for other women to have a voice in CBD.
