A report from Axios says that Disney has rolled out some updated Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) messaging to Cast Members in an email sent out earlier today. The email, from Chief Human Resources Officer Sonia Coleman, outlines the changes that Disney will make as part of a shift in DEI messaging and efforts. The email comes on the heels of reports that Disney has scaled back DEI messaging to investors.
As of today, BlogMickey.com has confirmed that the Reimagine Tomorrow website redirects to Disney’s new Inclusion page.
Disney to Drop “Reimagine Tomorrow” During Ongoing DEI Changes
The report says that an email sent by Coleman outlines the following changes to Disney’s DEI programs, some already spotted by BlogMickey.com such as the launch of a new “Belonging” page on Disney’s own website. Here are the high-level changes:
- Beginning this fiscal year, Disney will replace the “Diversity & Inclusion” performance factor that it used to evaluate executive compensation with a new “Talent Strategy.” The new “Talent Strategy” factor includes concepts from its old “Diversity & Inclusion” factor, but is more focused on how values drive business success.
- Disney is getting rid of its Reimagine Tomorrow initiative, and the corresponding website, which was used to highlight stories and talent from underrepresented communities. The site was replaced externally in December by an updated hub on Disney’s corporate website, and also on Disney’s internal website.
- The company has rebranded its “Business” Employee Resource Groups (BERGs) to “Belonging” Employee Resource Groups. The transformation, which began last year, is meant to highlight the focus on BERGs in strengthening the employee community and workplace experience.
In addition to the outlined changes, Axios is reporting that Disney will remove the auto-play disclaimer before some of Disney’s movies that contain outdated depictions or stereotypes. Here’s an example of the disclaimer that would play before certain movies. This will be removed completely and replaced with a disclaimer in the written details section of the movies that it applies to.
The changes are part of an ongoing effort to scale back DEI initiatives at The Walt Disney Company. Under a second Trump term, Disney appears to be looking to avoid any backlash from the President. This is a significant shift from how the company has operated in recent years, and will likely represent a huge step back in terms of how the company is viewed from not only the liberal side of America, but many of its own Cast Members who forced Disney’s hand to stand up to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation was moving through the Florida Legislature in 2022.
Disney CEO Bob Iger is likely spearheading efforts to remove and scale back DEI policies. In comments to Cast Members during a 2022 town hall, Iger talked about some of the backlash “woke” movies were having, saying that it is important to listen to the audience and not have distain for them. But, he noted that “we’re not going to make everybody happy all the time, and we’re not going to try to. We’re certainly not going to lessen our core values in order to make everybody happy all the time. So it’s complicated and there’s a balance…”.
At the time, Iger noted that Disney would not stop trying to do the right thing. It will be interesting to see how scaling back DEI policies will be spun by Disney executives as more news comes out about the changes.
UPDATE (5:30pm): Here is the internal memo sent by Coleman (via Business Insider). Our reporting above remains unchanged.
Executive Leaders,
For over 100 years, Disney has entertained and inspired generations of families from all walks of life around the world. We create entertainment that appeals to a global audience, and having a workforce that reflects the consumers we serve helps drive our business. With more than 230,000 dedicated employees and Cast Members in more than 40 countries across six continents, Disney 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.
Creating a welcoming and respectful environment for our employees and guests is core to our company culture and our business. Our values — integrity, creativity, collaboration, community, inclusion — guide our actions and how we treat each other. Today I want to provide an update on how our values are embedded in our leader compensation programs, specifically our Other Performance Factors (OPFs), as well as share some of the work that has been underway to evolve our talent strategy consistent with these values.
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.”
As many of you know, we have spent the last year partnering with stakeholders across the company 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. The resulting framework — which we released in December — is designed to align our initiatives with our business goals and company values, centered around four key pillars:
People: We reach and attract the best, most talented people around the world and foster barrier-free talent processes for everyone.
Culture: We purposefully champion a culture where everyone belongs and can contribute to our business success.
Market Reach: We create unforgettable stories, experiences, and products that entertain and resonate globally.
Community: We learn from and support under-served communities by establishing and investing in impactful relationships with organizations and business stakeholders.
As we developed this new framework, we looked at ways to enhance our programs and practices to strengthen our workplace environment, in service of our business.
While some of you are already familiar with what’s new, we wanted to highlight some of the key developments:
New Online Destination: In December, we added our new framework to our corporate Impact website and the Belong hub on MyDisneyToday, with a focus on our above pillars and continued progress. This new framework, rooted in our efforts to enhance our employee experience, marks the evolution of the significant work done with Reimagine Tomorrow and succeeds that branding.
Employee Groups: Last year, we began the process of unifying and streamlining our global enterprise-wide Belonging Employee Resource Groups (BERGs) structure, and rebranded the “B” in BERG from “Business” to “Belonging” to highlight that our employee groups’ role is focused on strengthening our employee community and workplace experience.
While this will continue to evolve, what won’t change is our commitment to fostering a company culture where everyone belongs and everyone can excel, enabling us to deliver the globally appealing entertainment that drives our business.
Warm regards,
Sonia
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