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Speaking Persuasively to
Women About Marijuana
Lauren Padgett
Beyond the Lobbying Basics
Differences in gender socialization○ Women are socialized to nurture, men are socialized
to be decision makers
○ Polarization of power begins in early education
○ Yale study showed that male executives who spoke
more than their peers were perceived with 10%
higher ratings of competence from subjects who
observed them. Female executives were rated 14%
lower, by both male and female subjects
Beyond the Lobbying Basics
Roles and Perception in the workplace○ Difference in perception of women translates to
Congress
○ Men interrupt women frequently, but women
interrupt other women just as often
○ Institute a no-interruptions rule for your lobby
meetings, especially when you disagree
Beyond the Lobbying Basics
Roles and Perception in the workplace○ Some studies on charitable giving show an
“empathy gap” among genders, but everyone
responds well to a good story! Tell yours, and back it
up with the facts.
○ Be knowledgeable, but avoid overexplaining.
○ “Are you familiar with what this bill will do?”
○ “Do you have questions for me?”
Effective Messaging to Women
Regulation Works!○ Drug dealers don’t check ID, but Colorado stores
can boast perfect compliance
○ Teen use has been declining in Colorado since
2010, opposite of the national trend. Research found
no statistical evidence of increased probability of
teen use
○ Adults using legal marijuana get a safe product--
“just like a glass of wine!”
Effective Messaging to Women
Refocusing Tax Resources○ Colorado collected between $50-$60 million in tax
revenue, $10 million of which went to schools
○ Saved roughly $145 million that the state once spent
on enforcing marijuana prohibition
○ Frees up police to focus on serious crime
Effective Messaging to Women
Messaging to the “marijuana middle”○ Men are more pro-legalization than women
○ Women make up 56% of the marijuana middle, and
were likelier to change their opinions after hearing a
persuasive argument
○ 64% of women polled by Third Way expressed
support for a federal waiver as long as regulations
were strong
○ Medical marijuana polled better than adult use
Effective Messaging to Women
So, what do I actually say?
Effective Messaging to Women
What Doesn’t Work○ Decrying the War on Drugs as a whole: it lumps
marijuana in with harder drugs
○ Fixing state-federal conflict: voters polled didn’t
believe that the DOJ would actually prosecute state-
compliant patients, nor that a new president would
roll back reforms
○ “States should be responsible” instead of “States
have a right”
Effective Messaging to Women
Women and Medical Marijuana○ Women are a rapidly growing market for medical
marijuana
○ Make the majority of medical and financial
decisions for their families
○ Are more likely to use alternative medicine
○ Are more likely to be diagnosed with a chronic
illness
Effective Messaging to Women
In conclusion...○ Use inclusive, non-condescending messaging
○ Know the real benefits of regulation
○ Most Americans would support federal policy
allowing states to regulate marijuana- bring your
legislator on board by telling a great story!
Sources
AAUW Educational Foundation (1992). The AAUW Report: How Schools Shortchange Girls.
http://www.aauw.org/files/2013/02/how-schools-shortchange-girls-executive-summary.pdf
Neufeld, Adam et al (2004). Study on Women’s Experiences at Harvard Law School.
http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/experiences/ExecutiveSummary.pdf
Hancock, Adrienne B. and Rubin, Benjamin A. Influence of Communication Partner’s Gender on Language. Journal of
Language and Social Psychology, 34(1), 46-64.
http://www.regulatemarijuana.org/regulation-works
http://asq.sagepub.com/content/56/4/622.short
http://www.campaignforyouthjustice.org/documents/FR_YACJS_2012.pdf
http://www.politifact.com/rhode-island/statements/2015/jan/11/james-aubin/advocate-says-colorado-received-60-million-
taxes-a/
http://www.thirdway.org/report/the-marijuana-middle-americans-ponder-legalization
