Over the last few weeks, calls for systemic changes to policing, governance, and business in support of Black Americans have gained historic levels of support in response to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others. Campaigns including the Pull Up or Shut Up Challenge and the 15 Percent Pledge have brought about swift and decisive progress toward increased representation across a number of industries.

But one major company has largely sidestepped recent demands for change: The Walt Disney Company.

Disney has faced bad press before, with their profiteering, politicking, and poor working conditions and low wages for Cast Members coming under scrutiny. Over the last few weeks, stories of the hostile work environments that BIPOC Cast Members face at The Walt Disney Company have alarmed fans and left us ashamed of this company we love so much. But this spotlight has come and gone with The Walt Disney Company emerging virtually unscathed. It’s time to hold Disney accountable.

On May 30, 2020, a public statement was released by The Walt Disney Company entitled Resolve in a Time of Unrest: A Message to Fellow Employees. In it, Bob Chapek (CEO), Bob Iger (Executive Chairman & Chairman of the Board), and Latondra Newton (Senior Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer) assure readers that:

“While we don’t have all the answers, we resolve to use our compassion, our creative ideas and our collective sense of humanity to ensure we are fostering a culture that acknowledges our people’s feelings and their pain. We also realize that now more than ever is the time for us all to further strengthen our commitment to diversity and inclusion everywhere.

We intend to focus our efforts and resources to compassionately and constructively talk about these matters openly and honestly as we seek solutions. We intend to keep the conversation going, not just today, but for as long as it takes to bring about real change.”

Alongside this statement, The Walt Disney Company made a commitment to donate $5,000,000 to the NAACP and other nonprofit organizations that advance social justice. 

But as Walt Disney himself said, “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”

Disney fans and consumers around the world demand that The Walt Disney Company “begin doing” now, and keep their promise to “further strengthen our commitment to diversity and inclusion everywhere.” 

The Walt Disney Company has an opportunity to take meaningful steps toward true diversity, equity, and inclusion by immediately diversifying its Executive Leadership and Board of Directors. 

While The Walt Disney Company boasts a 67% Diverse Board of Directors, a quick scroll of its leadership webpage clearly demonstrates that the company has a lot of work to do. 100% of the Executive Leadership is White or White-Passing, and 80% of the Board of Directors is White or White-Passing. It appears that The Walt Disney Company has used the presence of White women on their Board of Directors to inflate their diversity statistics. This must stop immediately.

Further, Latondra Newton, a Black woman, is already in place as Senior Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer at The Walt Disney Company, holding a title that appears to be on par with other senior executives at The Walt Disney Company. Yet she is not listed among the company’s senior leadership on Disney’s website. Why?

The Walt Disney Company shuffled and rearranged their Executive Leadership as recently as May 18, 2020. And yet, no progress was made to diversify this roster of senior leaders. Why?

We are calling on The Walt Disney Company to offer a promotion to their current Senior Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer that elevates her to senior-level Executive Leadership, compensate her equitably to others currently serving as senior Executive Leadership, and increase her department budget so that she has the resources necessary to introduce and implement new approaches to address racism, white supremacy, and other harmful systems of oppression at every level of The Walt Disney Company.

If Ms. Newton chooses not to accept a senior-level Executive Leadership position, she should be tapped to lead the search and selection process to name a BIPOC senior Executive to the leadership of The Walt Disney Company. This first action will demonstrate a good faith effort on the part of The Walt Disney Company to begin the long work of creating truly diverse and representational leadership at all levels of the organization.

Representation matters. The Walt Disney Company's mission to entertain, inform, and inspire is not limited to the princesses and heroes we see on screens and in Parks. Disney has a responsibility to ensure that future generations can see themselves as Executives, Directors, Imagineers, Animators, Creators, or anything else they can dream up. 

This is an opportunity for The Walt Disney Company to finally step up as a true leader. As Disney fans, we want to see The Walt Disney Company evolve into a truly just, diverse, equitable, and inclusive employer and corporation that we can feel proud to support and champion. 

Walt Disney’s forward-thinking vision is often framed as a call to create new technologies and push through boundaries of art and engineering. But today, we ask everyone who loves The Walt Disney Company, and its many brands and businesses, to see Walt’s love for the unknown future through a lens of racial justice and social change. We have the power to create change if we follow Walt’s advice: “First, think. Second, dream. Third, believe. And finally, dare.”