The Walt Disney Company is doubling down on DEI just as President Donald Trump is in the process of removing the controversial programs from the federal government, calling them “illegal” in his recent executive order.
Disney touted its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in its annual proxy statement filed this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission in which the company said that it incorporates DEI into its board selection process as well as executive bonuses.
It even classified “diversity” under the category of “skills and experience.”
The filing, which was first reported by That Park Place, comes as a growing number of major corporations including Walmart, Target, Boeing, and Ford are moving away from or are completely abandoning their DEI initiatives. Such programs were increasingly seen as divisive and counterproductive — as well as legally dubious, since they discriminate against white and Asian males based on their race and gender.
On Monday, after his second inauguration, President Trump issued an executive order calling DEI programs “illegal” and ordering their removal from the federal government.
The EO doesn’t affect corporations like Disney. But the larger cultural shift away from DEI is unmistakable, as companies and even academic institutions seek to distance themselves from woke ideology.
Public universities in Florida, Texas, Colorado, Iowa, and even New Jersey are moving away from DEI in the wake of Trump’s election victory in November.
For now, at least, Disney is still on board with DEI.
Disney’s proxy filing lists DEI as a factor in calculating the annual bonuses of its top executives, including CEO Bob Iger.
Under Iger’s leadership, Disney has positioned itself as an antagonist to President Trump, especially through ABC News, which showed clear bias against Trump during the presidential debate it hosted in 2024.
Disney recently agreed to pay more than $15 million to settle Trump’s defamation suit against the network.
In the proxy statement, Disney says its board members are evaluated based on how well they reflect “the diversity of the Company’s shareholders, employees, customers, guests, and the communities in which it operates.”
The proxy also states that Disney’s board is 40 percent non-male and 30 percent non-white.
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