Netflix to Spend $100 Million to Help Underrepresented Communities in Entertainment
27 February 2021 - 1:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Joe Flint
Netflix Inc. is creating a $100 million global fund aimed at
increasing outreach to underrepresented communities looking to work
in entertainment, the streaming giant said Friday.
The Netflix Fund for Creative Equity will be distributed over
five years to external organizations as well as internal
initiatives at the company.
Netflix didn't say what specific organizations it would support.
It previously contributed to Project Involve and Ghetto Film
School, nonprofit organizations that provide fellowships and
mentoring to filmmakers from diverse backgrounds.
The fund is the latest of several initiatives Netflix has
launched that are aimed at boosting diversity in entertainment.
Last year, the company said it would donate $5 million to
organizations supporting Black artists, advocacy groups and
businesses.
"Doing better means establishing even more opportunities for
people from underrepresented communities to have their voices
heard, and purposefully closing capacity and skill gaps with
training programs where they are needed," said Netflix Co-Chief
Executive and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos in a company blog
post Friday.
Last June, Netflix said it would shift 2% of its cash holdings
to banks and credit unions serving Black communities, while Netflix
co-founder and Chairman Reed Hastings and his wife Patty Quillin
are donating $120 million to Black colleges Morehouse, Spelman and
the United Negro College Fund.
The attention to diversity by Netflix and other entertainment
companies increased in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd
while in Minneapolis police custody and the social justice protests
around the country that followed.
The new Netflix fund comes on the heels of a study commissioned
by the company from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, a
University of Southern California-affiliated think tank, to analyze
the diversity of its content for movies and TV shows made in the
U.S. The study examined 126 movies and 180 scripted series in 2018
and 2019.
The report gave Netflix high marks in terms of gender equality
in its films and movies. The number of women and girls in prominent
on screen roles was in sync with the population and ahead of
industry trends. Behind the camera, Netflix was ahead of the rest
of the industry among creators and writers and on par in terms of
directors, the report said.
Netflix had a strong representation of Black characters, the
study said, but the streaming service came up short with LGBTQ and
disabled characters.
Mr. Sarandos said Netflix believes increasing its efforts as
well as continuing to work with USC to track their progress will
create "a lasting legacy of inclusion in entertainment."
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 26, 2021 09:14 ET (14:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024