Gender identity was collapsed into a 3- level categorical variable; transgender and non-binary were recoded to “self-described.” Additionally, I controlled for sexual orientation as a binary variable: lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, or queer and heterosexual. Lastly, there were three variables measuring employment included in the analysis. Employment status was treated as a dichotomized variable with full-time scored as one and part time scored as zero. Employment tenure in cannabis was also treated as a dichotomous variable to in order to gauge seniority in the industry, pre-legalization of recreational cannabis. Employment tenure in the cannabis industry less than two years was scored as zero, and employment tenure longer than two years was scored as one. Respondents chose one of four options, “less than 6 months” , “6 months to 1 year” , “1 year to 2 years” , and “more than 2 years” . Survey data were analyzed using the statistical program, STATA version 16. Univariate analysis was initially conducted to identify observations with missing data and assess demographic information of the sample. Bivariate analyses, using chi-square, were conducted to investigate the relationships between the three dimensions of sexual harassment and independent variables. Significance was assessed at an alpha level equal to 0.05. Multivariable linear regressions were used to assess relationships with frequency of harassment for the 3 sub-scales and the independent variables. Significance for the logistic regression models was also assessed at an alpha level equal to 0.05. Interviews were transcribed by and coded using Dedoose version 8.3.17.
All interviews were coded twice in order to develop and solidify the codebook. Interviews were analyzed using a deductive approach and thematic content analysis to identify salient responses to organizational risk factors of sexual harassment. Table 3 captures frequency, distribution and Cronbach alpha scores for sexual hostility reported by participants. The most frequent item reported was listening to verbal remarks of a sexual nature at an average frequency of 1.47,horticulture solutions representing an occurrence of once to one or more times a month. Respondents least frequently experienced sexual hostility in the form of persistent and unwanted invitations for discussions of a sexual nature. The average frequency for this item was 1.09. In other words, amongst the study sample, workers experienced harassment in this form on average once in the last 12 months. Unwanted sexual attention was, overall, the least common dimension of sexual harassment experienced by respondents, as demonstrated in table 1. The most frequent item reported in this particular category was uninvited touching, experienced less than once by the entire study sample . The item least reported was being witness to obscene images in the workplace . For bivariate and multivariate analysis, items two and three were removed from the dimension of unwanted sexual attention as they had the lowest response rates, and the highest Cronbach alphas, 0.31 and 0.39, respectively. Although the surveys served as the primary source of data for this study, in-depth interviews were conducted in order to provide more descriptive and clarifying insights into the context of sexual harassment that occurs in dispensaries. I was particularly interested in learning from workers how organizational factors may exacerbate experiences of harassment or serve as protective factors. This information was not collected through the survey as it was more exploratory in nature and hearing from workers directly would offer the most accurate insight. Themes of organizational risk factors were drawn from the data by closely examining examples of harassment described by workers.
Their responses often did not focus on the details of the incident itself but its antecedents and consequences. Additional themes captured from the interviews included apathy towards experiences of harassment and a desire for union led training focused on worker’s rights and de-escalation tactics. Although being a victim of harassment was not a requirement for participating in the interviews, all workers described varying levels of experience with sexual harassment in their work environment. Experiences ranged from personally being a target of harassment, witnessing their co-workers being harassed or learning about instances through co-workers. Among the interviewees, two identified as men, and the rest as women . The age of interviewees ranged from 27 to 32 years of age. All interviewees, except one, had previous experience in illegal dispensaries as well as non-union represented shops. This is important to note as respondents often used their past work experiences as a point of reference for describing their current workplace as well as recent experiences with harassment and their company’s responses. The names of workers have been altered in order to protect the anonymity and confidentiality of respondents. Similar to the survey results, interviewees most often cited customers as the primary sources of sexual harassment in their workplace followed by co-workers and the occasional manger. Perpetrators were also often described as men and experiences with harassment ranged from verbal being the most common form experienced to explicit exposure and physical groping in the workplace. Verbal harassment experienced by workers was often in the context of customers repeatedly flirting with them or being “overly nice,” to the point where it made them uncomfortable during an interaction. Many of these experiences were shaped by their organization’s approach to sexual harassment as organizations are responsible for protective measures that influence a worker’s capacity to confront perpetrators in their work environment.This exploratory study sought to shed light on the issue of sexual harassment in retail store fronts of the cannabis industry as a newly legalized and emerging industry. Findings from this studied aligned with previous research documenting the high prevalence of sexual harassment in other retail and service sector industries .
Of the 117 study participants, 63, 68, and 46% reported experiencing at least one instance of sexist hostility, sexual hostility and unwanted sexual attention, respectively, in their place of work during the past 12 months. Although conducting a comparative analysis between the between prevalence of sexual harassment in cannabis dispensaries and other retail and service industries goes beyond the scope of this study, past literature on harassment in retail provides a reference point for responding to hypothesis one. For example, a study investigating sexual harassment in the restaurant industry found 50% of women and 47% of men experienced scary or unwanted sexual behavior while at work . While the two studies may vary in their methodologies and exact study population, they reach the same conclusion. Sexual harassment is an occupational hazard of retail and service sector industries. Therefore, a cursory comparison suggests harassment in the cannabis industry is equal, if not more prevalent than in other comparable industries. Studies regarding hazards of the retail and service sector industries also point towards customer sexual harassment as the specific context of harassment in retail fronts . The combined results of the multivariate analyses revealing gender identity to be a significant predictor of harassment, and the majority of perpetrators reported to be customers in this study highlights the harassment of women identifying bud tenders from customers as the specific workplace issue needing to be addressed. Furthermore, although only the bivariate analysis for sexual hostility revealed gender identity to be significantly associated with experiencing specific sub-scales of sexual harassment , results from the multivariate analysis,grow benches confirmed hypothesis 2a; gender identity is a significant predictor of all three sub-scales of harassment. Women were more likely to experience a greater frequency of harassment than the men in the workplace. This finding aligns with the literature on sexual harassment in the workplace, confirming women as the primary targets and victims of sexual harassment . These findings were also triangulated through interviews as sexual harassment was always discussed in the context of a female bud tender targeted by customers, co-workers and mangers alike. Only models one and two of the multivariate analyses alluded to hypothesis 2b regarding the racial and the ethnic differences in the likelihood to experience harassment. Model one predicting all form of sexual harassment and model 2 predicting sexist hostility indicated Black respondents experienced a greater frequency of harassment than White respondents. However, this finding was not supported by interview data as workers never revealed the race of the victims targeted for sexual harassment. This may be because they were not explicitly prompted to do so or because they did not believe the race of the victim to be a risk factor. For this particular thesis, the findings on race and ethnicity are inconclusive, however, future studies may seek to investigate how the actions taken to address sexual harassment may vary by the racial and ethnic background of the victim. We know from previous studies investigating sexual harassment that it is often enacted concurrently with racial harassment as a manifestation of power and dominance against minority groups .
Hypothesis 2c was confirmed through both bivariate and multivariate analysis, suggesting LGBQ individuals face substantially greater risks of experiencing sexual harassment in terms of both prevalence and frequency compared to heterosexual individuals. This finding is supported by past literature indicating sexual minorities are more likely to experience sexual harassment than their heterosexual counterparts throughout their lifetime . Although workplace protections for LGBQ individuals have increased in recent decades, this study, alongside others documenting discrimination, harassment and assault of the LGBQ community in work environments , demonstrates the continued need and obligation of employers to prevent the victimization of LGBQ workers. It should be noted that the interviews also did not reveal a connection between sexual orientation and sexual harassment as the primary goal of the interviews was to investigate organizational risk factors. Because previous studies have identified a relationship between workplace policies and the actions workers take to address sexual harassment , I investigated the possible linkage between a worker’s awareness of their employer’s policies to protect them from harassment and the likelihood to report such experiences. My prediction in hypothesis 3a of a negative relationship between the number of policies recalled and the likelihood to experience harassment was not supported by either bivariate or multivariate analysis. Quantitative analysis suggested there was no significant relationship between the number of policies recalled and the likelihood to experience harassment nor the frequency of harassment. However, qualitative results showed workers did feel workplace policies directly affected their likelihood to experience harassment while working. Specific policies described were policies on banning customers and how different stores decided to check the identification of customers which could leave workers in vulnerable positions if left alone with a customer. The conflicting results may be explained by a distinction between policies intended to shape retribution of harassment and policies that indirectly create opportunities for harassment to take place. The latter is more difficult to capture through surveys as the investigator has to have a preconceived notion of what to ask, thus highlighting the benefits of conducting mixed methods studies, particularly in new and understudied environments. In response to research question four, results from the qualitative interviews specifically highlighted tip systems and working in isolation as organizational risk factors for experiencing harassment. Tips in particular have previously been cited in occupational research as a risk factor for harassment as they incentivize workers to sexualize themselves and tolerate abuse from customers for their income . Responses by managers was a common theme discussed by workers as managers have the direct ability to ban customers based on inappropriate behavior and were often the first point-of-contact for workers to report an experience of harassment. The risk of continued harassment is exasperated by apathetic management teams who were described as prioritizing customer satisfaction over workers’ safety. Workers also illustrated the unique history of cannabis as a heavily sexualized industry whose legacy continues to permeate the industry today and negatively impact worker’s experience with sexual harassment. According to interviews, workers believed that customers either could not or refused to distinguish legally operating dispensaries from trap shops where women were explicitly used as props to sell product. The lack of distinction encourages the entitlement customers feel towards exploiting cannabis workers without repercussions. Interview results presented a paradox within the cannabis industry in which legalization introduced new protections to workers while simultaneously ushering in the corporate model of the “customer is always right,” which previous studies highlight as a detriment to the ability of workers to protect themselves from threatening customers . Furthermore, regarding research question five, data indicated workers were most interested in sexual harassment-based training for all workers, managers and supervisors as well establishing and publicizing clear policies on harassment. Findings from the survey were triangulated by interview results.