NEWS: Disney Shareholders Reject Anti-DEI Investor Proposal

In case you missed it, The Walt Disney Company recently held its annual shareholder meeting.

©Disney

During that meeting, Disney announced a sequel to the Pixar film Coco and spoke about domestic theme park attendance and pricing. The company also held some important votes, including a vote over a proposal to cut ties with its Human Rights Campaign, as well as a vote over a climate change proposal.

One of Disney’s investors, the National Center for Public Policy Research, proposed that the company withdraw from the Human Rights Campaign’s corporate equity index, which rates companies on LGBTQIA+ equality. The proposal argued that Disney’s involvement in these kinds of political issues alienated parts of its audiences and caused damage to the company’s stock prices.

Disney urged its investors to reject the proposal. A vote only showed 1% of investors in favor of the proposal, so it was ultimately voted down. However, this vote comes after the company recently altered some of its diversity, equality, and inclusion practices.

Another proposal sought to task Disney with issuing a report on how the company would protect its employee retirement plan investments from the risks of climate change. This proposal was submitted by an advocacy group called As You Sow — Disney’s board urged investors to vote against the proposal as the report would not be a “valuable use of Company time and resources, nor enhance long-term shareholder value.” Ultimately, this proposal was also rejected by investors.