Disney shareholders want pay gap reports

That proposal, which asks the company to report data on median and adjusted pay gaps, was approved by 59% of shareholders that voted by proxy.

By Emile Hallez, March, 11, 2022

The Walt Disney Co. may soon shed light on its gender and racial pay gaps after a shareholder resolution passed Wednesday that the business had strongly opposed.

That proposal, which asks the company to report data on median and adjusted pay gaps, was approved by 59% of shareholders that voted by proxy at Disney’s annual meeting.

Disney currently reports figures for its gender pay gap in the U.K. but nowhere else in the world, said Julia Cedarholm, senior associate in ESG research and shareholder engagement at Arjuna Capital, which filed the proposal. In the U.K., women’s median base pay at Disney is 12% lower than men’s and their bonuses are 25% lower, Cedarholm noted.

“Disney does not disclose adjusted or unadjusted median racial and gender pay gaps. Disclosure of these pay gaps is critical for Disney as it has faced multiple allegations of pay discrimination in recent years,” Cedarholm said in remarks at the annual meeting. “Last year, Black workers’ median earnings [in the U.S.] represented 64% of white wages, and women’s median earnings represented 83% of men’s wages. Actively managing pay equity is a business imperative, as it is associated with improved representation, superior stock performance and higher return on equity.”

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