Disney Shareholders Reject Anti-LGBTQ+ Proposals, Uphold Commitment To DEI At Annual Meeting - Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)

The Walt Disney Company DIS has voted against a proposal to withdraw from a prominent LGBTQ+ rights organization’s equality ratings program.

What Happened: The proposal, initiated by the right-wing think tank National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) through its Free Enterprise Project (FEP) initiative, urged Disney to cease its participation in the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) annual Corporate Equality Index. The FEP contended that Disney’s engagement in the program was negatively impacting shareholder value by distancing a segment of its clientele and investors.

Disney’s board recommended shareholders vote against the proposal, suggesting it would not add extra value to shareholders considering the company’s current practices and supervision of ESG reporting, workforce equity issues, and human rights policies. Shareholders concurred, with a mere 1% voting in favor of the proposal, reported Variety.

Eric Bloem, VP of corporate citizenship at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, stated, “….despite all the noise, commitments to inclusion pay figurative dividends and help their literal bottom line."

Why It Matters: Since 2007, Disney has maintained an ideal score on the CEI, a point of contention for the FEP, which criticized the achievement as a result of compliance with what it termed as “partisan, divisive and increasingly radical criteria.” The proposal further accused Disney of engaging in activism by opposing Florida’s contentious “Don’t Say Gay” law in 2022.

The company continued to face criticism for its DEI policies, with Tesla Inc.‘s CEO Elon Musk terming it a “DEI gestapo” last year.

The recent shareholder comes after Disney attempted to shift its DEI strategy in February after President Donald Trump returned to office. Axios reported that the company is updating content warnings for some of its older movies such as "Peter Pan" and "Dumbo." The new warning read, "This program is presented as originally created and may contain stereotypes or negative depictions."

Disney holds a momentum rating of 42.67% and a growth rating of 66.09%, according to Benzinga's Proprietary Edge Rankings. The Benzinga Growth metric evaluates a stock’s historical earnings and revenue expansion across multiple timeframes, prioritizing both long-term trends and recent performance. For an in-depth report on more stocks and insights into growth opportunities, sign up for Benzinga Edge.