Netflix releases diversity and representation report; plans to increase inclusion
Employment of black people at Netflix US has doubled in the last three years and women make up 47.1 percent of the streaming giant’s global workforce.
In Netflix’s first-ever report on inclusion, the online streaming giant charted its internal progress in building a diverse workforce since ‘inclusion’ was added as a company value in 2017. The report was released online on Wednesday.
Even as Netflix makes strides with strong storytelling that portrays Black British lives, gay man with cerebral palsy, Co-CEO and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said, “Inclusion on-screen starts with inclusion in our internal community.”
The report revealed that women make up 47.1 percent of its global workforce of 8,000 employees. While 55.1 percent of creative and corporate roles are taken up by women, women workforce lingers low at mere 34.9 percent in technical roles as of October 2020.
(Infographic courtesy: Netflix)
In the US, 46.4 percent of the workforce belong to underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds including Black, Latinx or Hispanic, Indigenous, Middle Eastern, Asian, and Pacific Islander backgrounds. They also hold 42 percent of leadership positions.
Eight percent of the workforce in the US are Black people – which has doubled in the last three years – who hold nine percent of leadership positions at the level of director and above.
Besides ensuring equitable pay and inclusive benefits like gender-blind parental policy, Netflix claims to have conducted more than 120 workshops dealing with topics like privilege, bias, allyship, intersectionality, across teams.
It has also introduced 15 Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) which are communities to connect based on shared experiences. This includes communities catering to employees who are Latinx, veteran, Black, disability, pride communities, among others.
“What we have learnt about diversity and inclusion is that while it is the right thing to do for sure, it is also responsible for our ability to innovate,” said Vernā Myers, Vice President of Inclusion Strategy, Netflix.
She emphasised that despite good progress over the last three years, more needs to be done to bring people from underrepresented communities on board.
Edited by Kanishk Singh