Disney is reportedly scaling back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices in light of President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting these initiatives in the government and corporate America.
Trump issued a series of executive orders in January aimed at dismantling DEI within the federal government and its contractors. One order, titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” ordered the Office of Management and Budget to terminate all DEI-related mandates, policies, programs, and activities across federal agencies.
Another order, titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” directs federal agencies to target DEI initiatives in the private sector. It instructs the Attorney General to create a plan to crack down on organizations that use DEI practices in hiring in other areas. This enforcement would involve filing lawsuits against companies that use these programs.
Now, it appears Disney is pulling back from at least some of its focus on DEI and revamping its policies to comply with Trump’s executive orders, according to Deadline.
The tweaks, discussed in an internal memo, are less dramatic than DEI shifts at other major companies from Meta to Amazon to Google but meant to stem potential backlash after one of Trump’s first acts in office was to shut down federal DEI initiatives and put employees on leave. Federal contractors and grantees are also under scrutiny. PBS, funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, said this week it is closing an office dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts amid Trump’s flurry of executive orders.
Disney is also updating disclaimers that run before certain titles on its streaming services that currently warn viewers of “negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures.” In a forthcoming change, the tag will read, “This program is presented as originally created and may contain stereotypes or negative depictions,” and be included in the Details section.
In a memo sent to executive leaders in the company, Disney’s HR chief Sonia Coleman noted that the company “has long believed that the rich variety of talents and experiences our employees bring to their work is good for our business and enhances the experience of our global consumers, audiences, and guests.”
Coleman affirmed that “Our values — integrity, creativity, collaboration, community, inclusion — guide our actions and how we treat each other.”
The memo does not explicitly mention diversity programs but indicates that the company is still dedicated to ensuring that everyone has an opportunity to excel.
Other Performance Factors (OPFs): Beginning this fiscal year, we are adding a new “Talent Strategy” factor to our executive compensation planning. This factor will assess how leaders uphold our company values, incorporate different perspectives to drive business success, cultivate an environment where all employees can thrive, and sustain a robust pipeline to ensure long-term organizational strength. This new factor represents an evolution of important concepts in the former Diversity & Inclusion OPF and will be used alongside our other two OPFs, “Storytelling & Creativity” and “Synergy.”
Coleman noted that company leaders worked last year to “discuss the evolution of our strategic framework for advancing our commitment to being welcoming, respectful, and inclusive in how we operate so we are the best place to work.”
She further stressed that Disney will focus on reaching and attracting “the best, most talented people around the world and foster barrier-free talent processes for everyone” while championing “a culture where everyone belongs and can contribute to our business success.”
The memo further stresses Disney’s commitment to fostering a community where “We learn from and support under-served communities by establishing and investing in impactful relationships with organizations and business stakeholders.”
The memo seems to suggest that Disney might be pulling back from DEI – albeit slightly – while still seeking to ensure people of all backgrounds are included. Even this move has elicited backlash from DEI supporters who claim the company is giving in to President Trump.
Though under discussion for almost a year internally, the latest in a perceived series of walk-backs by Disney under Trump 2.0 was a hard pill to swallow for many staffers across various divisions of the company. Calling the present state of diversity initiatives at Disney “uncertain,” the insider added: “What’s next? Where do we go from here? What do we stand for now, keeping MAGA happy?”
“This is not what I expected from Bob — I thought he had our back.”
Another well positioned individual cited “embarrassment” over the public apology and $15 million-plus Disney paid out late last year to Trump‘s presidential foundation and museum as part of a settlement reached in the then-president-elect’s defamation case against ABC and anchor George Stephanopoulos as “the beginning of the capitulation.” Along with the DEI giveaway, new disclaimers regarding what were once termed “negative depictions,” new compensation metrics and a rebranding of the under represented voices Reimagining Tomorrow program, several longtime employees referred to the December removal of a transgender storyline from Disney+’s upcoming Pixar series Win or Lose as shocking and “pandering to MAGA.”
There’s a strong consensus across a swath of Disney employees that the current Iger era is nothing like the last, when it seemed like the company and its leaders were comfortable taking a stance and sticking to it, contrarians be damned. In 2018, Iger was solidly behind then-ABC Entertainment boss Channing Dungey and her team in quickly cancelling the highly rated Roseanne revival after a series of racist tweets by Roseanne Barr. Iger seemed to shrug off a Twitter attack by Trump days later after the CEO called former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett to apologize for what Barr said about her. Now, many insiders have grown frustrated that Disney continues to try to win over conservatives rather than take a stand on almost anything — a stance not just affecting employees but also talent relationships, I hear.
From where I sit, it seems to me that Disney and many other companies are still going to promote diversity without referring to it as DEI. If Coleman’s memo truly represents the priorities of the company’s leadership, it will still hire people from diverse backgrounds.
Perhaps the difference will be that they scale back on the more divisive and ridiculous elements of diversity, including how many companies have handled trainings and seminars that focus on white supremacy and black victimhood. This could be a step in the right direction.