Netflix is far outpacing Hollywood in hiring female directors

Originally posted at QUARTZ

Though they were snubbed by the Golden Globes this year, female directors are becoming more commonplace in Hollywood, thanks in large part to Netflix. The streaming giant, which also got slighted at the Jan. 5 awards show—its big-budget feature The Irishman, directed by Martin Scorsese, went home without a single statue— had women helming 20% of its 53 original US films last year, according to the Annenberg Inclusive Initiative at the University of South California, which tracks Hollywood’s diversity statistics. That was nearly double the 10.6% rate of representation for women directors across the 100 top-grossing US films of 2019. (The Netflix number excludes documentaries, non-English films, and international Netflix originals.)

In recent years, Netflix has been focused on hiring a more diverse workforce overall, in large part to reflect its increasingly diverse audience. In addition, the streaming service, which continues to spend large, has been more willing than the entrenched studios to take risks on movies that may not necessarily be blockbusters.

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