1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,040
- When you have people
from different backgrounds,

2
00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:05,490
they bring different perspectives.

3
00:00:05,490 --> 00:00:09,430
I mean, look at the things
that we now see on TV,

4
00:00:09,430 --> 00:00:13,150
things that we never used to see,

5
00:00:13,150 --> 00:00:18,048
and that is because we have
different storytellers.

6
00:00:18,048 --> 00:00:20,580
(gentle music)

7
00:00:20,580 --> 00:00:22,410
- [Narrator] Creating real systemic change

8
00:00:22,410 --> 00:00:24,340
is a continuous journey that requires us

9
00:00:24,340 --> 00:00:26,650
to always keep taking steps forward,

10
00:00:26,650 --> 00:00:28,863
no matter how big or how small.

11
00:00:30,660 --> 00:00:33,537
This is "The Work in Progress."

12
00:00:35,140 --> 00:00:37,320
2020 was a year that gave a re-energized

13
00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:39,650
and much louder voice to
the long standing issues

14
00:00:39,650 --> 00:00:42,180
surrounding systemic
racism and inequality.

15
00:00:42,180 --> 00:00:43,920
For the country and the world at large,

16
00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:45,470
it was clear that business as usual

17
00:00:45,470 --> 00:00:46,970
was no longer acceptable.

18
00:00:46,970 --> 00:00:47,930
In the literal sense,

19
00:00:47,930 --> 00:00:50,040
the American workplace was no exception.

20
00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:51,690
Many studies have shown that white males

21
00:00:51,690 --> 00:00:54,350
make up 66% of America's c-suite

22
00:00:54,350 --> 00:00:57,840
and there are only four Black
CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.

23
00:00:57,840 --> 00:00:59,330
And while I dig me some white males,

24
00:00:59,330 --> 00:01:02,310
innovation thrives and
businesses grow exponentially

25
00:01:02,310 --> 00:01:04,210
when there is much more representation

26
00:01:04,210 --> 00:01:06,710
from Black and brown voices,
persons with disabilities,

27
00:01:06,710 --> 00:01:08,160
different gender identities,

28
00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:10,090
and global cultural backgrounds.

29
00:01:10,090 --> 00:01:12,750
And arguably, no industry
has as big an opportunity

30
00:01:12,750 --> 00:01:15,771
to change this landscape
as the media industry.

31
00:01:15,771 --> 00:01:16,604
♪ Ready ♪

32
00:01:16,604 --> 00:01:17,500
(upbeat music)

33
00:01:17,500 --> 00:01:18,810
- [Announcer] The pandemic has us viewing

34
00:01:18,810 --> 00:01:20,170
more content than ever

35
00:01:20,170 --> 00:01:22,350
in the middle of one of
the biggest global focuses

36
00:01:22,350 --> 00:01:24,460
on diversity in recent history.

37
00:01:24,460 --> 00:01:27,320
And one of the biggest
content providers is Netflix,

38
00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:29,260
a global epicenter of culture.

39
00:01:29,260 --> 00:01:31,640
What Facebook or Twitter
is for social media,

40
00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:33,090
Netflix is for entertainment.

41
00:01:34,370 --> 00:01:36,460
Both a technology and
an entertainment brand,

42
00:01:36,460 --> 00:01:39,020
Netflix is a media giant
within a fragmented industry

43
00:01:39,020 --> 00:01:41,460
with a vast library of stories to tell.

44
00:01:41,460 --> 00:01:42,540
And like a lot of companies,

45
00:01:42,540 --> 00:01:45,373
it's not without its very
sometimes public missteps.

46
00:01:46,470 --> 00:01:48,790
The brand needs its internal
culture to be inclusive

47
00:01:48,790 --> 00:01:50,870
in order for its content to be diverse,

48
00:01:50,870 --> 00:01:53,890
which is key to their
global business model.

49
00:01:53,890 --> 00:01:55,870
And although the company
has made some great strides

50
00:01:55,870 --> 00:01:57,750
in representation on-screen,

51
00:01:57,750 --> 00:02:00,140
there was still a lot of
work to be done internally,

52
00:02:00,140 --> 00:02:03,010
as Vernā Myers, VP of
inclusion strategy found out

53
00:02:03,010 --> 00:02:05,190
when she joined the company in 2018.

54
00:02:05,190 --> 00:02:07,200
- I would be in front of the executives

55
00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:08,033
and I would be like,

56
00:02:08,033 --> 00:02:10,730
"Everybody, we're gonna do a
conversation on privilege."

57
00:02:10,730 --> 00:02:11,563
Right? (laughs)

58
00:02:11,563 --> 00:02:13,090
And as you might know,

59
00:02:13,090 --> 00:02:15,140
some people are like, "Ooh, privilege."

60
00:02:15,140 --> 00:02:16,821
A lotta folks worry about-

61
00:02:16,821 --> 00:02:17,874
- I'll take some!

62
00:02:17,874 --> 00:02:19,120
(both laughing)

63
00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:20,470
- Right? It being a bad word.

64
00:02:20,470 --> 00:02:23,500
But we see it as a superpower.

65
00:02:23,500 --> 00:02:27,040
That when you can
identify your privileges,

66
00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:28,690
that's the thing you can leverage

67
00:02:28,690 --> 00:02:31,610
to create more equity
and inclusion for others.

68
00:02:31,610 --> 00:02:33,830
We talk about allyship being so important

69
00:02:33,830 --> 00:02:37,000
because it's a thing that
every one of us can do.

70
00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,500
Like, a Black person who's straight

71
00:02:39,500 --> 00:02:44,500
could be a very good ally
to an LGBT person, right?

72
00:02:44,810 --> 00:02:48,830
So you may be experiencing
oppression on the Black side,

73
00:02:48,830 --> 00:02:51,320
but as a straight person,
you have privilege

74
00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:52,920
and so how are you going to use it?

75
00:02:52,920 --> 00:02:55,620
So all of us, because we
have multiple identities

76
00:02:55,620 --> 00:02:58,200
in this social hierarchy

77
00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:00,310
and are treated differently based on it,

78
00:03:00,310 --> 00:03:01,920
we can find those places.

79
00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:04,270
And for a long time in corporate America,

80
00:03:04,270 --> 00:03:06,960
we could not name racism.

81
00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:09,540
We could not say anti-black.

82
00:03:09,540 --> 00:03:13,930
We could not say systemic
inequality, right?

83
00:03:13,930 --> 00:03:17,510
Because everyone felt this can't be true.

84
00:03:17,510 --> 00:03:18,530
I'm like, "How else are you

85
00:03:18,530 --> 00:03:21,400
going to explain the disparities?"

86
00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:24,280
Like, either there's a
problem with the system

87
00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:29,310
or you sayin' this whole group
of people aren't as capable.

88
00:03:29,310 --> 00:03:32,540
Like, which is its own
racism, or it's its own bias.

89
00:03:32,540 --> 00:03:36,010
So we need everyone with a
certain kind of understanding

90
00:03:36,010 --> 00:03:38,860
and vocabulary and concepts to use those

91
00:03:38,860 --> 00:03:42,370
to look at what they're doing every day,

92
00:03:42,370 --> 00:03:44,700
who they're hiring, how they're promoting,

93
00:03:44,700 --> 00:03:47,160
how they treat people, even in a meeting,

94
00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:50,460
so who gets heard, who doesn't get heard,

95
00:03:50,460 --> 00:03:54,260
how do we listen to different
languages and ideas,

96
00:03:54,260 --> 00:03:56,010
how do we bring perspectives.

97
00:03:56,010 --> 00:03:58,120
All of that is the work of inclusion

98
00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:00,930
and we need everybody
looking through that lens

99
00:04:00,930 --> 00:04:04,640
at the work they do in
order to move us forward.