Amid the tumult of political challenges to DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) initiatives in the U.S., Axios reports that Disney is changing the content warning that plays ahead of some of the studio’s older films on streaming, such as Dumbo (1941) and Peter Pan (1953), which contain denigrating racial and cultural depictions.
The content warning will now read “This program is presented as originally created and may contain stereotypes or negative depictions,” reverting the wording to a version of the original caution added to such films in November 2019 (which read: “This program is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated cultural depictions.”)
In 2020, Disney+ introduced a longer CW which explicitly disavowed the harmful content: “This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together. Disney is committed to creating stories with inspirational and aspirational themes that reflect the rich diversity of the human experience around the globe.”
The backtrack comes amid overall shifts in the studio’s approach to DEI, according to Variety. Disney’s head of human resources, Sonia Coleman, issued the following memo on Tuesday:
“Executive Leaders,
For over 100 years, Disney has entertained and inspired generations of families from all walks of life around the world. We create entertainment that appeals to a global audience, and having a workforce that reflects the consumers we serve helps drive our business. With more than 230,000 dedicated employees and Cast Members in more than 40 countries across six continents, Disney has long believed that the rich variety of talents and experiences our employees bring to their work is good for our business and enhances the experience of our global consumers, audiences, and guests.
Creating a welcoming and respectful environment for our employees and guests is core to our company culture and our business. Our values — integrity, creativity, collaboration, community, inclusion — guide our actions and how we treat each other. Today I want to provide an update on how our values are embedded in our leader compensation programs, specifically our Other Performance Factors (OPFs), as well as share some of the work that has been underway to evolve our talent strategy consistent with these values.
Other Performance Factors (OPFs): Beginning this fiscal year, we are adding a new ‘Talent Strategy’ factor to our executive compensation planning. This factor will assess how leaders uphold our company values, incorporate different perspectives to drive business success, cultivate an environment where all employees can thrive, and sustain a robust pipeline to ensure long-term organizational strength. This new factor represents an evolution of important concepts in the former Diversity & Inclusion OPF and will be used alongside our other two OPFs, ‘Storytelling & Creativity’ and ‘Synergy.’
As many of you know, we have spent the last year partnering with stakeholders across the company to discuss the evolution of our strategic framework for advancing our commitment to being welcoming, respectful, and inclusive in how we operate so we are the best place to work. The resulting framework — which we released in December — is designed to align our initiatives with our business goals and company values, centered around four key pillars:
People: We reach and attract the best, most talented people around the world and foster barrier-free talent processes for everyone.
Culture: We purposefully champion a culture where everyone belongs and can contribute to our business success.
Market Reach: We create unforgettable stories, experiences, and products that entertain and resonate globally.
Community: We learn from and support under-served communities by establishing and investing in impactful relationships with organizations and business stakeholders.
As we developed this new framework, we looked at ways to enhance our programs and practices to strengthen our workplace environment, in service of our business. While some of you are already familiar with what’s new, we wanted to highlight some of the key developments:
New Online Destination: In December, we added our new framework to our corporate Impact website and the Belong hub on MyDisneyToday, with a focus on our above pillars and continued progress. This new framework, rooted in our efforts to enhance our employee experience, marks the evolution of the significant work done with Reimagine Tomorrow and succeeds that branding.
Employee Groups: Last year, we began the process of unifying and streamlining our global enterprise-wide Belonging Employee Resource Groups (BERGs) structure, and rebranded the “B” in BERG from “Business” to “Belonging” to highlight that our employee groups’ role is focused on strengthening our employee community and workplace experience.
While this will continue to evolve, what won’t change is our commitment to fostering a company culture where everyone belongs and everyone can excel, enabling us to deliver the globally appealing entertainment that drives our business.”
(No word on plans for a new Disney Parks outpost in Red, White and Blueland.)
[Sources: Axios, Variety]
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