Netflix

In June 2025, Netflix shareholders voted overwhelmingly (over 99%) to reject anti-DEI proposals brought by a conservative shareholder group. Netflix's 2025 10-K filing stated the company works to 'build diversity, inclusion and equity into all aspects of our operations globally.' The board stated the anti-DEI proposal was 'unnecessary.'

Netflix offers up to 52 weeks of paid parental leave to all salaried employees regardless of gender, tenure, or family formation method (birth, adoption, surrogacy). The policy, introduced in 2015, makes Netflix the highest-ranked Russell 1000 company for parental leave according to JUST Capital. Benefits include global family forming support for fertility, surrogacy, and adoption regardless of marital status, gender, or sexual orientation. Average usage is 6.3 months (US) and 7.5 months (international).

By 2024, more than 50% of Netflix's approximately $15 billion content budget was allocated to markets outside North America. Since 2020, Netflix has commissioned 814 titles internationally - more than twice as many as Warner Bros Discovery and Amazon. The company pledged $2.5 billion in South Korea through 2027, nearly $6 billion in the UK by end of 2023, $200 million on Brazilian content, and $1.9 billion on Asia-Pacific local content in 2023. Non-English language titles accounted for 30% of viewing in the first half of 2023, with significant representation of Spanish-language and Korean content. Netflix also distributed more than $35 million to creative equity programs globally by 2024.

During the 2023 WGA writers strike, Netflix suspended overall and first-look deals and limited assistant pay coverage. The company expected $1.5 billion additional cash from the strikes. Meanwhile, executives received $166M in compensation. Shareholders rejected executive pay packages after writers urged votes against. WGA president argued if Netflix could afford $166M for executives, it could afford the $68M/year writers were asking for.

Netflix achieved carbon neutrality across its operations in late 2022 through direct emissions reduction, renewable energy procurement, and high-integrity carbon credits. The company set targets to reduce emissions by roughly 50% by 2030 and match remaining emissions from 2022 onwards. By 2024, Netflix reported reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 46% compared to its 2019 baseline. Netflix is a founding signatory of the Entertainment and Environment Leadership Alliance (EELA, 2023), a member of RE100 committing to 100% renewable electricity, and a participant in the UNFCCC Race to Zero campaign. The company also installed geothermal heating, on-site solar, and EV charging at its Albuquerque studio campus.

In May 2022, Netflix eliminated 150 positions following its first subscriber loss in a decade, including cutting several animated projects such as 'Antiracist Baby' and 'Wings of Fire.' In June 2022, a second round cut approximately 300 more positions, with 216 in the US and 84 internationally. The layoffs cost $70 million in severance. Co-chiefs Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos acknowledged they regretted not seeing slowing revenue growth earlier. The cuts disproportionately affected the animation division and creative roles.

In October 2021, Netflix released Dave Chappelle's special 'The Closer' which was widely condemned by LGBTQ+ organizations including GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign for anti-trans content. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos defended the special, stating it didn't cross the line into inciting hate. Netflix suspended Terra Field, a trans senior software engineer who publicly criticized the special, though later reversed the suspension. Around 65 employees and advocates staged a walkout. In May 2022, Netflix updated its culture memo to state the company will not 'censor specific artists or voices' and that employees who find it hard to support content breadth should consider leaving.

In September 2020, Netflix faced massive backlash over its promotional poster for the French film 'Cuties' (Mignonnes) which was widely considered to sexualize child actors. #CancelNetflix trended on Twitter and over 600,000 people signed a petition to cancel subscriptions. Netflix apologized for the 'inappropriate artwork.' Internal documents later revealed Netflix manipulated its search algorithm to suppress promotion and search queries related to the film, aiming to 'minimize press coverage' rather than address the concerns transparently.

In January 2019, Netflix removed an episode of 'Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj' in Saudi Arabia after the Saudi government stated the episode violated its cybercrime laws. The episode criticized Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and questioned US ties with Saudi Arabia following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Netflix stated it complied because it was legally required to do so under Saudi law, but was widely criticized for yielding to censorship from a government with severe human rights violations.