Women's participation in the creation of series for platforms and SVoD: a comparison between Mexico and Spain

Authors

Keywords:

Audiovisual industry, Woman, Fiction series, Netflix, Spain, Mexico

Abstract

The audiovisual sector in Mexico and Spain is undergoing a period of growth and internationalisation. The impulse of the major SVoDs has been decisive in both cases, as Madrid and Mexico City have become Netflix's production centres for Europe and Latin America, respectively. This study examines female participation in the fiction series produced by this platform in both countries from 2015 to 2023, focusing on those created exclusively by women. It combines quantitative analysis with qualitative data from a set of in-depth interviews. In both cases, the presence of women professionals has progressed, but they are still a minority in audiovisual teams (39.5% in Mexico and 37% in Spain) and, above all, they find it difficult to reach decision-making positions. Budgetary constraints and prejudices also hinder their access to all genders and their participation in major productions.

Author Biographies

Marta Saavedra Llamas, Antonio de Nebrija University

PhD Accredited with an active six-years investigation periods (2015-2020). She holds a Degree in Journalism and a Postgraduate Degree in Stock Market Communication and Financial Sectors from the Complutense University (Madrid). Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Communication and Arts at Nebrija University since March 2021, she has been a member of the University's Board of Directors since 2016, when she was appointed director of the Department of Communication (2016-2021). She is a professor of the degrees in Journalism and Audiovisual Communication.

She belongs to the Innomedia Research Group (Innovation in Communication and Media). Previously, she was part of the Research Group in Journalism Analysis and Anticipation, which participated in privately funded projects on journalism, specialization in health, environment and communication strategies. Its priority lines of research are communication industries, communication strategies, social audience, competences and professional profiles in communication and the studies of the area. As well as teaching innovation projects and active teaching methodologies. She has published four books in publishers of scientific impact on her lines of research; has twenty articles in indexed journals and about thirty book chapters. She has participated in more than ten international congresses.

Rocío Gago Gelado, Antonio de Nebrija University

PhD in Communication Sciences (Rey Juan Carlos University) and member of the Innomedia research group. Her lines of study focus on new television formats, film, fictional series, theater, gender and professional profiles in communication. She is the author of the book Ciberfeminismo en España: discurso teórico y prácticas digitales (2019). She has published several papers in high indexed reviews (“Jauría: Documentary Fiction and the Transformative Potential of Sexual Violence Testimony”, European Journal of Cultural Studies, 2022) and has coordinated, among others, the book La nueva edad de oro de las series de ficción en España: mercados, narrativas y públicos (Tirant Lo Blanch). Researcher at the Chair in Cinema, Women and Education, funded by EGEDA and Platino Educa. She directs the Audiovisual Communication Degree at the Faculty of Communication and Arts (Nebrija University), where she is a lecturer for the subjects related to audiovisual production and scriptwriting. In the professional field, she has worked in numerous Spanish fiction series, including: Vis a Vis (Antena 3), Los Serrano (Telecinco), Los hombres de Paco (Antena 3), El Barco (Antena 3), Águila Roja (RTVE) or Lolita Cabaret (Antena 3), assuming responsibilities in the areas of scriptwriting, production, direction and editing. She has also worked as an editor and announcer at Cadena SER Radio.

 

Mercedes Herrero, Antonio de Nebrija University

PhD in Information Sciences (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), Master in Radio Journalism (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) and Master in Applied Linguistics (Universidad Antonio de Nebrija). She is a member of the Innomedia research group and is part of the R+D+I research project "Disability and digital competences in the audiovisual sector" (PID2019-105398RB-C21), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. Researcher at the Chair in Cinema, Women and Education, funded by EGEDA and Platino Educa. She has been a research fellow at: Cornell University (USA), Saldford University (UK), Radboud Univesiteit (Netherlands) and Karlova Univerzita (Czech Republic). He has published 10 articles in highly indexed journals and 15 book chapters in scientific impact publishers. He has participated in numerous international conferences. Her research interests include the application of new technologies to news discourse, misinformation in social networks, transmedia storytelling, new documentary models and new professional profiles, especially in the field of data journalism.

Professor accredited for public and private universities by the Agency for Quality, Accreditation and Foresight. Professor at Antonio de Nebrija University, where she teaches different subjects related to television production, reports and documentaries and international journalism. She has been director of the Master's Degree in Digital and Data Journalism and the Master's Degree in Television Journalism.

In the audiovisual field, she was a producer for Telemadrid's news programmes, where she participated in the coverage of national and international news events for more than 15 years.

Cristina Ángeles Huesca, Antonio de Nebrija University

Master's Degree in Communication and Audiovisual Languages, with Honourable Mention. She has completed her training in different centres in Mexico and Europe, specialising in filmmaking and editing.
She has been Coordinator of the Communication Laboratory (Communication Department) at the Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City (Mexico).
Her lines of research focus on cinematography, filmmaking and creative economy.
She teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses related to Cinematography, Technical Direction, Fundamentals of Image, Directing and Editing.

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Published

2025-08-19 — Updated on 2025-10-07

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How to Cite

Saavedra Llamas, M., Gago Gelado, R., Herrero, M., & Ángeles Huesca, C. (2025). Women’s participation in the creation of series for platforms and SVoD: a comparison between Mexico and Spain. Invortex, Cinema and Communication Studies, 3(1). Retrieved from https://invortex.udem.edu.mx/index.php/ivx/article/view/9143 (Original work published August 19, 2025)

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2025): Invortex, Cinema and Communication Studies

Section

Articles