Disney shareholders rejected a proposal to stop participating in a national diversity, equity, and inclusion report.
Just 1% of shareholders voted to approve the proposal, according to an initial vote tally. Disney will share the final results in a filing next week.
The Walt Disney Company on Thursday held its annual shareholders meeting, during which the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank, asked them to stop using the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index as a benchmark. The index measures companies by policies, benefits, and practices that support LGBTQ+ employees.
"When corporations take extreme positions, they destroy shareholder value by alienating large portions of their customers and investors. This proposal provides Disney with an opportunity to move back to neutral," the think tank said in a note included in the shareholder's proxy statement.
Ahead of Thursday's meeting, Disney's board recommended that shareholders vote against the proposal, writing in the proxy statement that they didn't believe the think tank's request "would provide additional value to shareholders."
Disney has had a perfect score on the Corporate Equality Index every year since 2007. However, that support for the LGBTQ+ community, both within Disney and outside Disney, has come at a cost.
In 2022, the company publicly opposed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill, which bans discussing gender and sexuality in schools. DeSantis lashed out at the entertainment conglomerate, ultimately upending a long-standing arrangement that allowed Disney to self-govern through its Reedy Creek Improvement District.
DeSantis gained control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District and renamed it the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. He appointed its board supervisors, effectively removing Disney's autonomy over development in the area.
Pressure on companies to roll back DEI initiatives increased when President Donald Trump took office in January. The president immediately signed an executive order to end diversity programs in the federal government and ordered federal DEI staffers to be placed on leave while their departments were cut.
Major companies, like Walmart and Target, have rolled back DEI initiatives amid that new pressure. Other companies have resisted.
In January, Costco shareholders rejected a proposal to report on the potential risks of its DEI efforts. One month later, shareholders at Apple rejected a proposal to cut its DEI programs. Both of those proposals were made by the National Center for Public Policy Research.
Eric Bloem, the vice president of corporate citizenship at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, said in a statement that the "vote gives us a clear statement of values from Disney's shareholders."
"Despite the growing politicization of DEI and workplace inclusion, leading global businesses remain committed to the belief that a welcoming, inclusive environment drives innovation, boosts productivity, and strengthens the bottom line," he said.
