Disney shareholders rejected a proposal to end the company’s involvement in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, a survey that measures corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality, during its annual meeting on Thursday.
The proposal came from the National Center for Public Policy Research. Stefan Padfield, the executive director of the conservative think tank’s Free Enterprise Project, said during the meeting that the HRC “acts as a kind of mafia, forcing companies to embrace gender ideology in exchange for a high rating” and “leverages corporations to support its work to legalize child sex changes and men in girls locker rooms.”
FEP argued in its proposal that corporations can destroy shareholder value by taking “extreme positions” and “alienating large portions of their customers and investors.” Since 2007, Disney has received a perfect score on the CEI, which FEP said can “only be attained by abiding by its partisan, divisive and increasingly radical criteria.”
Disney’s board recommended against the proposal and its shareholders overwhelmingly agreed, with only 1% voting in favor, according to a preliminary tally.
The proposal came as president Donald Trump has cracked down on DEI policies in Hollywood. Disney notably said it would end its “Reimagine Tomorrow” initiative, which is aimed at promoting stories from underrepresented groups.
Other proposals rejected at the annual meeting include one that would have required Disney to report on “climate risks to retirement plan beneficiaries” and another that would require it to evaluate “how it oversees risks related to discrimination against ad buyers and sellers based on their political or religious status or views.”
Meanwhile, 88% of shares voted to approve Disney’s executive compensation, which included a $41.1 million package for Disney CEO Bob Iger, while 96% voted to approve the election of Disney’s slate or board directors for one-year terms.
Around 1.47 billion shares, or at least 51% of the total number of shares entitled to vote, were represented at the meeting. As of Jan. 21, there were just over 1.8 billion shares of Disney common stock outstanding.
During the meeting, Disney also shared looks at the live-action “Lilo and Stich” and FX’s “Alien Earth,” and Iger announced plans for a sequel to “Coco,” slated for release in theaters in 2029.
He also teased a new entertainment universe being created in collaboration with Epic Games that will “exist parallel to and interoperable with ‘Fortnite’” that will allow users to play and create games, watch and create content, buy digital and physical goods and interact with each other.
Additionally, Iger said he would ask creative teams to consider making “some form of series or short form videos” of Figment, the star of EPCOT’s “Journey into Imagination” and emphasized that Disney is focused on expanding its existing parks locations rather than establishing new ones, as well as expanding its fleet of cruise ships.
In a Q&A at the end of the meeting, Iger said shareholders can expect management to continue recommending dividend increases. Last December, the board approved a $1 dividend, a 33% year-over-year increase. He also said the company would return around $3 billion in capital to shareholders during fiscal year 2025.
