Proxy power | How shareholders are exerting increasing influence over workplace policy

After nearly two years of public controversy surrounding changes to disability access policies at The Walt Disney Company, the issue has now moved to a shareholder ballot.

Investors will vote on a proposal requesting an independent review of the company’s accessibility and disability inclusion practices at Disney’s upcoming annual meeting, March 18.

The measure, appearing as Proposal 7 on Disney’s 2026 proxy ballot, asks the company to commission an independent third party to evaluate disability access policies from a legal, financial, reputational, and enterprise risk perspective, with summary findings reported to shareholders.

The proposal follows sustained public scrutiny of Disney’s 2024 changes to its Disability Access Service (DAS) program, which many guests with disabilities say made it significantly harder to obtain accommodations that previously enabled them to safely visit Disney parks.