Topline
The Walt Disney Company is backing away from DEI initiatives to refocus on its core entertainment business mission, according to an internal memo obtained by Reuters.
“Our businesses create entertainment, travel and consumer products, the success of which depends … [+]
Key Facts
Disney’s chief human resources officer, Sonia Coleman, penned a letter to the company’s 230,000 employees explaining changes in corporate culture to more closely “align our initiatives with our business goals and company values.”
Executive compensation, weighted 70% on reaching financial targets and 30% on other performance factors, will no longer include “Diversity & Inclusion,” as another performance factor, and will be replaced by a “Talent Strategy.”
The company has rebranded its “Reimagine Tomorrow” website, which explained Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion positions and actions, to “MyDisneyToday” to attract the “best, most talented” people to contribute to business success.
Disney maintains inclusion as a core value – Integrity, Creativity, Collaboration, Community, Inclusion – but the memo emphasizes belonging instead of diversity and substitutes equity by referencing to its corporate culture where “everyone can excel.”
Background
Disney joins a long list of companies that are reevaluating previous DEI practices in light of the Trump administration’s anti-DEI stance. While Disney’s statement as reflected in Coleman’s memo is nuanced – full text available here – it appears the company is responding to the change in direction of the political winds. After defeating a proxy battle by investor Nelson Pelz, that took issue among other things with Disney’s so-called “woke” agenda, CEO Bob Iger told CNBC that the company’s mission is to entertain a ”very diverse audience,” and affirmed his commitment to be more sensitive and not turn certain people off. “It’s not easy,” he said.
Tangent
Disney-owned ABC settled a defamation lawsuit brought by then President-elect Donald Trump for $15 million plus legal expenses after anchor George Stephanopoulos repeatedly said Trump had been found liable for rape during an interview with Congresswoman Nancy Mace, even after ABC producers warned him not to use the term “rape.” While some legal experts believe ABC could have prevailed at trial, the company chose to settle, helping the company stay on the right side of the President and his administration, which now includes Elon Musk heading up the Department of Government Efficiency initiative. Musk has repeatedly spoken out against Disney on X.
Crucial Quote
“Our businesses create entertainment, travel and consumer products, the success of which depends substantially on consumer tastes and preferences that change in often unpredictable ways,” the Walt Disney Company stated in its 2024 Annual Report. “Preferences of some consumers are affected by their perceptions of our position on matters of public interest, including regarding environmental and social issues.”
Further Reading
Exclusive: Disney Makes Changes to DEI Programs and Rebrands Employee Groups (Axios, 2/11/2025)
‘Politics Is Bad For Business.’ Why Disney’s Bob Iger Is Trying to Avoid Hot Buttons (Los Angeles Times, 12/23/2024)
Dissent Grows At Disney Over Perceived “Capitulation” To Trump As DEI Initiatives Diminished (Deadline, 2/13/2025)
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