Bela Bajaria, chief content officer at Netflix, gave a powerful speech about gender equality and access to education during Variety‘s Power of Women presented by Lifetime event in Hollywood on Thursday night.
During her acceptance speech highlighting the work of education organization Room to Read, Bajaria paid homage to her two great-grandmothers, who were both married by the age of 14 and unable to pursue a college education due to cultural customs in rural India.
“My daughters are the first women in my family with freedom to forge their own path,” Bajaria said. “They stand on a lot of people’s shoulders — including my mother’s and great grandmothers’. And they know plenty of women aren’t so lucky.”
The chief content officer reflected on the social and familial expectations in many countries that require girls to spend significant time tending to tasks such as feeding livestock or bringing clean water home. She explained how this mitigates the educational opportunities afforded to girls and cited how 122 million girls globally are currently not enrolled in primary or secondary education.
“Millions of little girls are born with the same brilliance and potential as little boys. But as they grow up, they learn that their future is more limited,” Bajaria said. “I can’t go back in time and give my great-grandmothers the freedom to live their own lives…what I can do — what we can all do — is make sure girls growing up today can discover their voices, and have more control over their lives.”
Bajaria recalled recent visits to Room to Read’s Girls Education Program at schools in Tanzania and Cambodia with her daughter. She brought attention to the local women supporting girls from sixth to 12th grade in mentor, sister and social worker capacities. These women, Bajaria explained, build trust with parents and community elders while empowering female students to advocate for themselves.
“Prioritizing an education isn’t about rejecting your community and your culture,” Bajaria said. “It’s about strengthening your community and your culture. When women have financial influence, each dollar goes back into the village or the family, which makes society stronger.”
Bajaria oversees the teams behind scripted and unscripted series such as “Squid Game,” “Stranger Things,” “Wednesday,” “Bridgerton” and “Cobra Kai” for the streamer. Prior to joining Netflix, the creative executive was at the helm of CBS Entertainment as senior vice president as well as Universal Television as president earlier in her career.
In the past, Bajaria has been recognized on Variety’s LA Women’s Impact Report. She joined the Coca-Cola Board of Directors earlier this month and serves on the L.A. Board of Governors for the Paley Center, the Board of Trustees for Meridian International Center and the board of L.A.’s Saban Community Clinic.
