For this Black History Month, Delta Airlines teamed up with The Black TV & Film Collective (BTFC) to bring travelers Black film classics.
Movies include Marvel’s “Black Panther” – the first Black superhero to hit theaters and break box office records – as well as Jordan Peele’s “Get Out,” plus “Hidden Figures,” “Fences,” and more.
The initiative comes after Delta’s Faces of Travel campaign. Launched last year, the airline utilized 100 images to spotlight the diversity of their travelers as part of their commitment to IBM’s Advertising Fairness Pledge. Through their work, Delta hopes to reduce unconscious bias and be more inclusive and diverse.
While the airline is making strides in its advertisements, the efforts to include diverse voices at the table are slow.
According to the DEI Report, Black professionals at Delta who were in director positions jumped six percent in 2022 while representation at vice president positions or higher only went up three percent.
The frontline diversity increased, as well. Hourly employees went from 22 percent to 28 percent while leading positions jumped to 33 percent – a six percent increase from 2020.
Other underrepresented racial and ethnic groups – those identifying as Latino, AAPI, Indigenous and two or more races – were also looked at in the report.
According to the data, 17 percent were directors in 2022 – relatively matching the 16 percent from the year prior. For vice president positions and higher, these groups made up 15 percent – a 4 percent jump from 2020. As for both the frontline workers and leadership representation, the four groups made up 23 percent.
When compared, not only are more Black professionals being given lower-level positions more often than senior-level positions. It also means that they’re less represented than other diverse groups in those higher roles.
One similarity they all share, however, is that the individual contributor positions had the most growth.
According to the data, Black professionals in contributor roles went up seven percent. For other diverse groups, the overall growth was the same – jumping from 19 percent in 2020 to almost 26 percent last year.
BTFC also worked with Netflix earlier this year in January. They were one of five organizations selected to nominate up-and-coming talent for the streaming service’s first “Created By” initiative. Through the initiative, Netflix offered script development deals to 14 mid-level, underrepresented film and series writers.
Last year, Netflix released its diversity report for 2021. According to the numbers, Black employment increased to almost 11 percent. Of that number, 13 percent were in leadership roles – a two percent increase.
The Latino representation, meanwhile, was nearly stagnant – going from eight percent to almost nine percent. The number of Latinos in leadership positions is even more idle – remaining at four percent between 2021 and 2022.
However, just a month later, Netflix came under fire for a major layoff due to its dropping stocks. The decision seemingly targeted a team that was majority women of color – bringing harsh criticism to the company and undermining the streaming service’s dedication to DEI efforts.
As of this publishing, Netflix has not yet released its 2022 diversity report.
