Bela Bejaria calls for gender equality and access to education for girls
Bela Bajaria, chief content officer at Netflix, gave a powerful speech at the event on gender equality and access to education Variety‘s Power of Women presented at Lifetime event in Hollywood on Thursday evening.
During her acceptance speech highlighting the work of education organization Room to Read, Bajaria paid tribute to her two great-grandmothers, both of whom married at the age of 14 and were unable to pursue a university education due to cultural practices in rural India.
“My daughters are the first women in my family who have the freedom to follow their own path,” Bajaria said. “They stand on the shoulders of many people, including my mother and great-grandmothers. And they know that many women are not so lucky.”
The Chief Content Officer reflected on the social and family expectations in many countries that require girls to spend a lot of time on tasks such as feeding livestock or bringing clean water home. She explained how this reduces educational opportunities for girls, citing that 122 million girls worldwide 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 older, 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 ensure that 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 drew attention to the local women who supported girls from sixth through 12th grade as mentors, sisters and social workers. These women, Bajaria explained, build trust with parents and community elders while empowering female students to advocate for themselves.
“Prioritizing an education is not about rejecting your community and your culture,” Bajaria said. “It’s about strengthening your community and your culture. When women have financial influence, every dollar goes back to the village or family, making 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. Before joining Netflix, the creative executive helmed CBS Entertainment as senior vice president and earlier in her career, Universal Television as president.
In the past, Bajaria was recognized at Variety‘s LA Women’s Impact Report. She joined Coca-Cola’s board of directors earlier this month and serves on the LA board of directors for the Paley Center, the board of directors for the Meridian International Center and the board of LA’s Saban Community Clinic.
