Disney appears to be scaling back its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives after activist investors pressured the company to do more. The Walt Disney Company has dropped two programs from its latest SEC filing: “Reimagine Tomorrow” and “The Disney Look” appearance guidelines.
The “Reimagine Tomorrow” program aimed to amplify underrepresented voices in media and entertainment, but its webpage remains active despite being removed from the DEI section of the company’s 2024 SEC report. The program had faced controversy over a leaked 2022 meeting where an executive discussed her “not-at-all-secret gay agenda.”
Disney’s move comes as other companies like Meta and John Deere have rolled back or eliminated their DEI initiatives in response to investor pressure. Activist investors, including Stefan Padfield of the Free Enterprise Project, are pushing Disney to drop its participation in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.
Padfield argues that the HRC index raises requirements for a perfect score every year, forcing companies to adopt policies that may harm business. The controversy over DEI initiatives has led to lawsuits and criticism from some shareholders who claim that such measures do not benefit the bottom line.
Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/disney-drops-two-dei-programs-latest-sec-filing-investors-pressure-company-do-more