Is ‘Jessica Jones’ Just the Start of Netflix’s Female First Strategy?

In a major push towards increasing diversity in Hollywood, Netflix is packing its programming with female talent … on both sides of the camera.

The recent announcement that all the directors on the upcoming second season of Marvel series “Jessica Jones” was just the start. The streaming giant is filling its executive team with women too.

“Netflix is the home of kickass women,” declared Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos in a speech Thursday night in Beverly Hills.

READ MORE: 7 Incredible Films Directed by Women of Color

“We’ve filled our executive suites with women,” he said. “It starts with female executives, who hire female story-tellers, who hire female directors.”

In his speech to members of the non-profit group Visionary Women on the evolving role of women in television, the programming chief added, “We are working as hard as we can to make sure that television is diverse in front of and behind the camera.”

That would certainly be a step in the right direction. Despite 50 percent of film school graduates being female, only seven percent of the top 250 grossing films last year were directed by women, according to a Variety study. Just 11 percent of those films were written by women and only five percent had female cinematographers.

READ MORE: “Women in Film: ‘Change the numbers, change the game,’ says Rainy Kerwin“