Following Paramount Global yesterday, Disney a few weeks ago and a rush of tech and other corporate backtracking on DEI, Warner Bros. Discovery said it is making a few changes to its policy including dropping references to diversity and equity.
“Our overarching work in this space will now be referred to as Inclusion,” the company said in a memo to staff today obtained by Deadline. “Making this change better aligns our language with our focus throughout our company, in our industry, and across our content.”
It said WBD is “updating the language we use to ensure the intent and impact of our actions are clear; you will see this new approach being updated on wbd.com as well as on our internal channels”.
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But, it noted, “Our success absolutely depends on having a team that’s truly diverse, reflects all perspectives, and has a culture where our employees feel valued and respected.
These have always been our values and that won’t ever change,” said the memo from Jennifer Remling and Asif Sadiq, respectively Chief People & Culture Officer and Chief Inclusion Officer of WBD.
They said a review of DEI initiatives was unveiled at Town Hall Hall in January.
Companies across industries have been scaling back or shuttering the programs, studios and language in response to an assault on DEI by President Donald Trump and his administration manifest in executive orders, and investigations and social media blitz.
Full memo below:
Team ,
For more than a century, our company has had a proud history of creating stories that inspire, educate, and entertain audiences of all backgrounds, all over the world. As storytellers, to truly and deeply connect with those global audiences, it is imperative that we understand and reflect the incredible depth of their lives and experiences — at every level of our company, in front of and behind the camera, on and off the screen.
Our success absolutely depends on having a team that’s truly diverse, reflects all perspectives, and has a culture where our employees feel valued and respected.
These have always been our values and that won’t ever change.
Today, we want to provide you with an update on our review announced at the Global Town Hall in January around our diversity efforts to be true to those values and make sure we continue to comply with the evolving legal landscape in the United States and around the world.
Our Continuing Values and Commitments Include:
- Continuing to Prioritize Inclusive Storytelling: We continue to be strongly committed to telling inclusive and diverse stories across our film and television programming around the world.
- Growing an Inclusive Team: One of the ways we do this is through our best-in-class recruiting and training programs, which provide essential skills training, education, and job opportunities to build career pathways into the entertainment industry for people of all backgrounds.
- Supporting All Employees: We will ensure our Business Resource Groups, which we believe play an important role in fostering community and belonging, continue to thrive as they welcome everyone to celebrate culture and share experiences.
- Investing in Employee Development: We are proud of the range of mentorship, leadership development, and growth opportunities we offer to employees throughout their careers. These programs will continue to be supported and play a role in our employee growth and development strategy.
Things That Will Change:
- Leading with Inclusion: Our overarching work in this space will now be referred to as Inclusion, which Asif’s team will continue to oversee. Making this change better aligns our language with our focus throughout our company, in our industry, and across our content. We’re updating the language we use to ensure the intent and impact of our actions are clear; you will see this new approach being updated on wbd.com as well as on our internal channels.
- Creating Consistent Program Opportunities: We will now have a uniform and consistent application process across our talent programs, including internships, mentoring, and other development programs. All of our programs will be open and welcoming to all applicants, with the goal of cultivating an inclusive home for world-class talent. By investing in world-class talent from wherever it comes, we are not only supporting growth and opportunity in this company but also strengthening the wider industry’s future.
- Ending Participation in Third-Party Surveys: While we will no longer participate in workplace surveys conducted by third parties, we will continue to gather internal data that allows us to understand how our employee base reflects the audience we serve.
Since our commitment to inclusion is essential to our business and our mission, we are undertaking this evolution thoughtfully. We are working with corporate and creative stakeholders from across the company to develop a refreshed strategy that aligns with both our business priorities and core values. We will share more with you soon as this progresses.
Telling stories that shape culture and engage people all over the world takes a commitment to diverse voices, perspectives, and experiences. Fully representing our audiences is critical to our business, our content, and our culture. We are now, and always will be, committed to ensuring our values underpin how we operate as a company.
Jennifer and Asif
Jennifer Remling
Chief People & Culture Officer
Asif Sadiq
Chief Inclusion Officer
WBD executives are the most discriminatory, dishonest and unethical of the entire entertainment industry. Horrible corporate culture there, from top to bottom.
Someone in the January town hall asked specifically about DEI with JB and they told the company that the name of their efforts might change because people in politics are sensitive about terminology but that the substance of the initiatives would always be a goal at the company. They said it was the same goals even before they were calling them DEI
I believe there are DEI hires who are under performing and over represented but it’s not who you think.
The US population consists 58% Whites, 19.5% Latino, 13.7% Black, 6.7% AAPI, Latinos 1.3% Indigenous
Of all the theatrical films that were released last year the directors were: 80% White, 6.1% AAPI, 5.2% mixed, 4.1% Latino, 3.5% MENA, and .9% black.
13/20 Top Films had films where 30% of performers were BIPOC.
BIPOC moviegoers bought the majority of opening weekend, domestic tickets for seven of the top 10 films and 12 of the top 20 films released in theaters in 2024
In 2024, films with casts that were from 41 percent to 50 percent BIPOC posted the HIGHEST median domestic box office, were released in the MOST theaters on average, and had the HIGHEST opening weekend rank on average.
It’s not about merit. It’s not about affirmative action. It’s not even really about profit. It is simply white fragility quaking in their boots at **change** Change that WORKS and SELLS
To be fair to WBD, this looks actually like a sly side-step of keeping DEI but just calling it Inclusion. A lot better than the other studios and big tech streamers that fully folded their tents.
Inclusion works if the target people that have the skills and work ethic. Every pronoun for themself!