Netflix wants to create stories from all walks of life, which are created by people of all backgrounds. Inclusivity and diversity help to protect from one-size-fits-all thinking by drawing on different experiences. As Ted Sarandos says, « Inclusion on screen starts with inclusion within our internal community.” Netflix wants to foster a cultural shift within the company, but also within the industries in which it operates.
A quarterly report on inclusion
Netflix has been working on this internal representation and has been publishing since 2013 a quarterly report on diversity within the company. This report states that women represent half of their internal workforce (47.1%), which also includes decision-making positions such as directors and supervisors, or vice presidents.
This report also states that nearly half of their U.S. workforce (46.4%) and management positions (42%) are held by people from underrepresented ethnic groups such as Black, Latino/Hispanic, Asian, Native American, Middle Eastern and Pacific Islander communities. The number of black employees in the U.S. has doubled in the last three years, with 9% in management positions and 8% in salaried positions.
Various actions within the company
Netflix wants to do even better and attract more people from underrepresented communities within the company. A dedicated inclusion team and work plan have been put in place. The Inclusive Recruitment Team has been created to help recruiters’ members to identify biases, search for candidates with other techniques than the so-called « traditional » techniques, and to help hiring managers to find perspectives that are not yet present in their teams.
The company has also created Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to strengthen this sense of inclusion and belonging, in particular by creating spaces where employees can come and share similar experiences.
The Inclusion Strategy team created the « Inclusion Lens ». It helps employees to ask themselves questions about inclusion such as « What voice is missing?”, “Is our representation accurate? » or « Are there any outcasts?”. This lens celebrates differences and seeks to identify biases as well as reflect on the impact of the taken decisions on underrepresented or marginalized groups.
Sources :
https://about.netflix.com/fr/news/building-a-legacy-of-inclusion
https://about.netflix.com/fr/news/netflix-inclusion-report-2021