Netflix has unveiled the first comprehensive study of diversity in its artistic content of films and series.
Dr Stacy Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative research team led the study.
The study indicated that more than 50% of Netflix movies and series presented women in lead roles, which means that the live broadcast service has reached gender parity on screen.
The study analyzed the composition of the roles and characters that appear on the screen in terms of race, gender, identity, disability and story, in addition to the creators, producers, writers and directors of 126 films and 180 series released during 2018 and 2019, as well as the study based on the participation rates of women in the 100 most viewed films on the Netflix platform.
The study showed that the percentage of artistic projects led by women amounted to 52% of the size of the industry as a whole.
Behind the camera, the study showed that Netflix also ranked high in displaying artworks produced by women. As for fictional films, female directors had a huge share of 23.1%, largely surpassing Hollywood production, as only 7.6% of directors were women. .
Michelle Obama participated in a program on the Netflix service for children (Netflix)
As for the writing and production component, women participated by 25.2% and 29% respectively, compared to 16.7% and 19% in the American entertainment content industry in general.
However, the results revealed that opportunities for women of color were missing compared to their white counterparts (66.2%).
For its part, Netflix published a post in which Ted Sarandos, co-CEO and head of content at Netflix, announced that the live broadcasting platform has established a fund of one hundred million dollars for creative contributions and is investing over the next five years, in addition to dedicated Netflix programs that will help train and provide Job opportunities for emerging talent worldwide.
"It's worth noting that across 19 of the 22 indicators we included in this study, Netflix showed improvement across movies and series from 2018 to 2019," Smith said.
The study indicated that people with special needs represent 27% of the US population, but their representation on screen did not exceed 11.9% in films, and 1% in series.
Among the original directors of movies on Netflix, 9.2% were blacks (9 men and 3 women), 3.1% were Asians, 1.5% were from the Middle East and North Africa, and one person was Latino.
As for TV programs, 6.5% of the content producers were black, 2.6% Latinos, 1.5% from Asia, and 1.9% from the Middle East and North Africa region.
The initiative team will complete this study every two years, between now and 2026.
This comes in light of a global trend to give equal opportunities to minorities in fair representation in the film industry, as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced in September of last year a new part of its Academy Aperture 2025 initiative. This matter pertains to new criteria for film eligibility for the Oscar for Best Film and obtaining nominations, and it will be applied to award nominations in 2022, that is, to films produced and shown in 2021.
According to the new criteria, any film will be excluded from nomination for the Oscar unless it fulfills at least two of the stated conditions, such as that the artwork includes ethnic and religious minorities, women and people with special needs within the lead roles and secondary roles.