Disney & Warner Bros | Major firms ditch diversity officers - is this the end for corporate DEI?

A group of production studios have let go of or lost their diversity officers, highlighting that many companies view the role as non-essential in the wake of external pressures.

Amongst those leaving their respective companies are Disney’s chief diversity officer and senior VP Latondra Newton who joined the company 16 years ago, Warner Bros.’ diversity exec Karen Horne who joined in 2020, Netflix’s first head of inclusion Verna Myers who resided in the role for five years, and Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences VP of impact and inclusion Jeanell English, whose role was created in 2022.

Diversity and inclusion became a point of public interest over the pandemic and after the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, which highlighted racism, discrimination and racial inequality. As a result, many firms increased training around diversity and inclusion, with some even introducing DEI roles that hadn't existed before.

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