The trans employee resource group at Netflix has released a list of demands for the company
ahead of Wednesday’s walkout. “We want the company to adopt measures in the areas of content investment, employee relations and safety, and harm reduction, all of which are necessary to avoid future instances of platforming transphobia and hate speech,” employees wrote in a press release, which has not yet been made public but was supplied to
The Verge.
The news comes after weeks of controversy due to Netflix executives continuing to support Dave Chappelle and his comedy special
The Closer, which many LGBTQ people and allies have criticized as transphobic.
Last week, Netflix
fired a leader of the trans ERG who was helping to organize the walkout. The company said this worker had leaked confidential information. Internally, that reasoning has been disputed.
While the conversation has become mired in a “culture wars” dispute over censorship and hate speech, none of the demands involve taking down the comedy special. Employees want Netflix to allow the trans ERG to take on a bigger role in internal conversations surrounding potentially harmful content, hire trans and nonbinary executives, and eliminate imagery of transphobic content in the office.
Read the full letter from Netflix employees below:
Over the past few weeks, it has become clear that there are many places where Netflix
still has to grow when it comes to content relating to the trans and non-binary
community. The Trans* Employee Resource Group, which includes trans and
non-binary colleagues as well as our numerous allies, wants Netflix to immediately take
the steps below to begin to repair the relationship between the Company, our
colleagues, and our audience. Specifically, we want the Company to adopt measures
in the areas of Content Investment, Employee Relations and Safety, and Harm
Reduction, all of which are necessary to avoid future instances of platforming
transphobia and hate speech, and to account for the harm we have caused and will
continue to cause until the below measures are put in place.
Content Investment
- Create a new fund to specifically develop trans and non-binary talent
○ This fund should support both above-the-line (ATL) and below-the-line
(BTL) talent;
○ This fund should exist in addition to the existing Creative Equity Fund;
- Increase investment in trans and non-binary content on Netflix comparable to
our total investment in transphobic content, including marketing and
promotion;
- Invest in multiple trans creators to make both scripted and unscripted programs
across genres;
- Revise internal processes on commissioning and releasing potential harmful
(“sensitive”) content, including but not limited to involving parties who are a
part of the subject community and can speak to potential harm, or consulting
with 3rd party experts/vendors;
- Increase the ERG role in conversations around potentially harmful content and
ensure we have best in class regional support on complicated intersectional
diversity issues;
- Hire trans and non-binary content executives, especially BIPOC, in leading
positions;
Employee Relations and Safety
- Recruit trans people, especially BIPOC, for leadership roles in the company
(Director, VP, etc.) and promote an inclusive environment for them;
- Allow employees to remove themselves from previous company promotional
content (e.g. allyship and diversity videos, etc.);
- Eliminate references/imagery of transphobic titles or talent inside of the
workplace, including but not limited to murals, posters, room names, swag;
Harm Reduction
- Acknowledge the harm and Netflix’s responsibility for this harm from
transphobic content, and in particular harm to the Black trans community;
- Add a disclaimer before transphobic titles that specifically flag transphobic
language, misogyny, homophobia, hate speech, etc. as required;
- Boost promotion for Disclosure and other trans-affirming titles in the platform;
- Suggest trans-affirming content alongside and after content flagged as
anti-trans.
We are employees, but we are members, too. We believe that this Company can and
must do better in our quest to entertain the world, and that the way forward must
include more diverse voices in order to avoid causing more harm. The Trans* ERG
looks forward to working with the Company to make this a better, more entertaining
place for us all.
Sincerely-
Trans* Netflix
