Netflix Gains in Gender Equality & Representation for People of Color

Netflix has revealed findings from its latest study with the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, which shows “notable improvements” for women and people from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups.

More than half (55 percent) of all Netflix films and series from 2018-2021 featured a girl or woman as the lead or co-lead.

In 2020-2021, nearly half (47 percent) of Netflix films and series featured a lead or co-lead from an underrepresented racial/ethnic group.

In 2021, 26.9 percent of directors on Netflix films were women, compared to 12.7 percent across top-grossing films that same year. And 38 percent of show creators in 2021 were women, substantially higher than 26.9 percent in 2018.

Women of color increased significantly as series directors from 5.6 percent in 2018 to 11.8 percent in 2021, with similar growth for writer and creator roles. Nearly a third of films (27.7 percent) and more than half of series (54.75 percent) in 2021 had women of color as leads/co-leads.

However, the findings also show that gaps persist for some specific racial/ethnic groups, including Latinx, Middle Eastern/North African, Indigenous and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander communities.

“Growing up as an Indian girl in the U.K., Zambia and later America, I noticed that nobody looked like me on TV or in the movies I loved and that no one was telling stories like mine,” said Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer. “Soon after getting my foot in the door at a network and giving notes on dozens of scripts a month, I realized that my heritage is a superpower: it allows me to see stories from different perspectives. Today I am excited as ever about working with creators from around the world to share and elevate new stories. And as part of that, I think it’s important to understand which voices we may not be hearing from.

“This is why two years ago, Netflix partnered with Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative to examine several inclusion metrics (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+, disability) in our U.S.-commissioned films and series. We committed to releasing our progress every two years through 2026 to help keep us accountable and effect lasting change in our industry.

“From our work with USC, we know that more inclusion behind the camera leads to better representation on screen. So in 2021, we also established the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity to invest $100 million over five years into creating more pathways for talent from underrepresented communities across the world. Today, we’re sharing our progress and the next round of results.”

Netflix has now announced several new programs. This includes Shondaland Producers Inclusion and Ladder Initiatives (U.S.), a new iteration of the Producers Inclusion Initiative that will train underrepresented line producers within the studio system. Additionally, 13 trainees are currently placed in production and technical roles on the set of The Residence, an upcoming Netflix series.

There is also the Gold Producers Accelerator presented by Gold House, AUM and Netflix (U.S.), led by Nina Yang Bongiovi. This program will give Asian and Pacific Islander producers paid shadowing placements on independent films, as well as mentorship and customized masterclasses.

With the imagineNATIVE Production Mentorship Program (Canada), Indigenous creatives will receive paid onset mentorship opportunities on a production in Canada.

Netflix x Film Companion Take Ten Program (India) will see five emerging filmmakers in India will create a limited series and get a chance to learn from leading industry professionals.

Also, applications are now open for a new series of digital masterclasses for Ukrainian producers and line producers through European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs (EAVE), House of Europe, the New York Film Academy and the Ukrainian Film Academy (Ukraine).